How Doc Antle And Britney Spears Are Unexpectedly Connected
Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has become an instant hit in this time of quarantine. Yet while the controversial zookeeper Joe Exotic might be the prime focus of the true-crime docuseries, the show's supporting characters have garnered unexpected attention for their connections to celebrities in the public eye.
In particular, Bhagavan "Doc" Antle of Myrtle Beach Safari finds himself in the spotlight again. Fans were shocked to discover he appeared alongside Britney Spears during her iconic 2001 MTV VMAs performance of "I'm A Slave 4 U," per Us Weekly.
As it turns out, while everyone was busy watching Spears with that snake, Antle and his tiger were on stage the whole time. As an alleged "cult" leader with multiple female partners, Tiger King portrays Antle as someone who grooms young women to join his group of big cat trainers.
So, when Spears' fans heard the animal behaviorist worked with the "Baby One More Time" singer when she was only 19 years old, they were quick to point out the dangers of this collaboration. "Thank god Britney Spears had her own handlers because there is no doubt in my mind she would have been easily swayed into becoming one of doc antle's wives," one person tweeted.
But it appears Spears' connection to the Tiger King cast might extend further than fans originally thought.
Does Britney Spears know Carole Baskin, too?
After word of Britney Spears' connection to Doc Antle began to spread across Twitter, fans of the Netflix docuseries scoured the singer's history to see if they could uncover any other Tiger King links. And one Twitter user @heidiwood_ delivered, writing: "can we talk about how carole baskin was sitting next to britney spears at the 2002 VMAs[?]" However, without official confirmation, it's hard to conclusively say whether or not that's truly Baskin by Spears' side.
In fact, some fans aren't convinced that the woman in the leopard print ensemble is actually the founder of Big Cat Rescue at all. "I don't think that's Carole, BUT that is 100% Doc Antle," another user tweeted in response to the emerging theory. Many users have also raised doubts, because apparently the photo in question was taken at the VMAs the year after Spears performed alongside Antle. "That's not Carole," someone else said. "And that's not even the same year Britney did the snake/lion performance. This pic was taken in 2002."
Does this discrepancy make the theory null and void — or might there be an even more mysterious connection between Spears and these Tiger King subjects? Well, if anyone can dig up the dirt on this developing story, it's Twitter!