Eliana Willis

Carole Baskin, the animal rights activist who gained national attention while sparring with exotic tiger keepers on the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” is getting her own show.The new show will star Ms. Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., according to a statement on Thursday from ITV America’s Thinkfactory Media, the production company that is developing the show.The new show, unscripted and as yet unnamed, will follow the couple “as they work to expose, like never before, those who abuse and take advantage of various animals,” and spotlight history, lawsuits and animal rights violations, Thinkfactory Media said in a statement.“This is a chance for us to use our new platform to battle the everyday evils facing big cats and so many other animals,” the Baskins said in the statement.The show is in the development phase, and the production company will soon meet with networks and streaming services to pitch it, Thinkfactory Media said.The company has previously worked to bring other shows to networks, including, “Mama June: From Not to Hot,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and “Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives.”Ms. Baskin and her husband gained attention in March, as much of the country was homebound during the coronavirus pandemic and millions of viewers were drawn to “Tiger King.” The documentary followed Ms. Baskin, an animal rights activist, and Joseph Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic), the flamboyant owner of a lion and tiger zoo in Wynnewood, Okla., through their long-lasting feud.In 2019, Mr. Maldonado-Passage was convicted of trying to have Ms. Baskin killed. In June, a federal court judge in Oklahoma ruled that Ms. Baskin’s organization, Big Cat Rescue Corporation, could take over the site of Mr. Maldonado-Passage’s former zoo.Ms. Baskin has denied any role in the disappearance of Don Lewis, her former husband, who was mentioned several times in the show. Mr. Lewis disappeared in 1997, and the case was never officially closed.Ms. Baskin also drew attention this week when she made her debut on “Dancing With the Stars” on Monday, performing to “Eye of the Tiger.” She wore her signature flower crown and danced in a pink tiger print dress. (The dance even started with her partner, Pasha Pashkov, and tiger props in a cage.)During the show, the family of Mr. Lewis and their lawyer, John M. Phillips, ran a commercial seeking justice for Mr. Lewis and asking for tips. As of Thursday, it had more than 800,000 views on YouTube.Ms. Baskin’s husband declined to comment about the commercial on Thursday.Ms. Baskin said Wednesday that it would be wonderful if the commercial could help solve Mr. Lewis’s disappearance, according to TMZ.Since the commercial was broadcast, Mr. Phillips said Thursday, a tip line and his law office had received more than 100 tips. Some of them are “very specific,” but he declined to elaborate.“The most important thing,” he said, “is that people were talking about Don Lewis.”Maria Cramer and Audra D.S. Burch contributed reporting. More

Carole Baskin, the animal rights activist who gained national attention while sparring with exotic tiger keepers on the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” is getting her own show.The new show will star Ms. Baskin and her husband, Howard Baskin, of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., according to a statement on Thursday from ITV America’s Thinkfactory Media, the production company that is developing the show.The new show, unscripted and as yet unnamed, will follow the couple “as they work to expose, like never before, those who abuse and take advantage of various animals,” and spotlight history, lawsuits and animal rights violations, Thinkfactory Media said in a statement.“This is a chance for us to use our new platform to battle the everyday evils facing big cats and so many other animals,” the Baskins said in the statement.The show is in the development phase, and the production company will soon meet with networks and streaming services to pitch it, Thinkfactory Media said.The company has previously worked to bring other shows to networks, including, “Mama June: From Not to Hot,” “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and “Dog and Beth: Fight of Their Lives.”Ms. Baskin and her husband gained attention in March, as much of the country was homebound during the coronavirus pandemic and millions of viewers were drawn to “Tiger King.” The documentary followed Ms. Baskin, an animal rights activist, and Joseph Maldonado-Passage (Joe Exotic), the flamboyant owner of a lion and tiger zoo in Wynnewood, Okla., through their long-lasting feud.In 2019, Mr. Maldonado-Passage was convicted of trying to have Ms. Baskin killed. In June, a federal court judge in Oklahoma ruled that Ms. Baskin’s organization, Big Cat Rescue Corporation, could take over the site of Mr. Maldonado-Passage’s former zoo.Ms. Baskin has denied any role in the disappearance of Don Lewis, her former husband, who was mentioned several times in the show. Mr. Lewis disappeared in 1997, and the case was never officially closed.Ms. Baskin also drew attention this week when she made her debut on “Dancing With the Stars” on Monday, performing to “Eye of the Tiger.” She wore her signature flower crown and danced in a pink tiger print dress. (The dance even started with her partner, Pasha Pashkov, and tiger props in a cage.)During the show, the family of Mr. Lewis and their lawyer, John M. Phillips, ran a commercial seeking justice for Mr. Lewis and asking for tips. As of Thursday, it had more than 800,000 views on YouTube.Ms. Baskin’s husband declined to comment about the commercial on Thursday.Ms. Baskin said Wednesday that it would be wonderful if the commercial could help solve Mr. Lewis’s disappearance, according to TMZ.Since the commercial was broadcast, Mr. Phillips said Thursday, a tip line and his law office had received more than 100 tips. Some of them are “very specific,” but he declined to elaborate.“The most important thing,” he said, “is that people were talking about Don Lewis.”Maria Cramer and Audra D.S. Burch contributed reporting. More

Jerry Harris, a fan favorite on the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” was arrested and charged with production of child pornography in a federal court in Chicago on Thursday.Prosecutors said Mr. Harris repeatedly enticed a 13-year-old boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself and send them to Mr. Harris.In an interview with law enforcement officials on Monday, the complaint says, Mr. Harris, 21, admitted to asking for and receiving child pornography from at least 10 to 15 individuals he knew were minors. He also admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old at a cheerleading event in 2019.A representative for Mr. Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Mr. Harris appeared in federal court in Chicago Thursday afternoon. He stood in front of M. David Weisman, a U.S. magistrate judge, in gray pants and a maroon button-down shirt, with his hands clasped behind his back.Mr. Harris responded “yes” when Mr. Weisman asked him if he understood the charge against him. He was also asked if he was taking any controlled substance or prescriptions, to which he responded that he was not.After the 15-minute hearing, Mr. Harris was handcuffed and escorted out by a U.S. marshal.An in-person hearing for Mr. Harris will occur on Monday at 10:30 a.m., Christopher Parente, a prosecutor in the case, said. Mr. Parente told the court that the government believes Mr. Harris is a “danger to the community.” The judge ordered Mr. Harris held in custody until the Monday hearing.Production of child pornography carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.A lawyer for Mr. Harris, Todd Pugh, left the courthouse without commenting.Mr. Harris was sued in Texas on Monday by two of the boys, twin brothers who say he sent and requested sexually explicit messages via text and social media and asked one of the them for sex at a cheerleading competition. The boys are not named in the lawsuit or the complaint because they are minors.According to the criminal complaint from the Chicago investigation, one of the boys who filed the lawsuit sent Mr. Harris more than a dozen photographs and videos of his genitals at Mr. Harris’s request, between December 2018 and March 2020. The boy said in the complaint that he told Mr. Harris he was 13 years old in their first online encounter, and that Mr. Harris sent photos of his own genitals, as well as videos of himself masturbating.The same boy said Mr. Harris asked him for oral sex in a bathroom at a cheerleading competition they both attended.Officials said that in the Monday interview, Mr. Harris admitted to asking the boy for explicit photos, sending photos of himself and requesting oral sex, and said he knew the boy was 13. He said he sent a text message to the second boy from the lawsuit asking if he was interested in engaging in sexual acts.The boys’ mother discovered the messages in February, the complaint says, including explicit photos and a video that the boy told her was Mr. Harris. She said she told her son to delete the photos and videos, which he did.The second boy who filed the suit against Mr. Harris said that Mr. Harris was “touchy” and did “odd things” to him and his brother, and that Mr. Harris had requested nude photos from him via Snapchat. The second boy said he refused all of Mr. Harris’s requests, as well as a request for an in-person sexual encounter.Law enforcement officials interviewed two 17-year-olds on Tuesday who had contacted them regarding Mr. Harris. One of the teenagers said he met Mr. Harris at a party this summer, at which he told Mr. Harris he was 17. He said Mr. Harris later messaged him on Snapchat and asked for photos, the complaint said. He said he did not send any then, but weeks later, he did send Mr. Harris photos in exchange for money, which was sent by an electronic payment application.The first teenager then told the other teenager about Mr. Harris’s request and the second teenager took photos of himself, which he told the first boy he could send to Mr. Harris.Mr. Harris later paid one teenager $500 for a video call in which the teenager exposed himself, the complaint said. The boy said Mr. Harris continued to message him throughout the summer and paid him $2,000 to $3,000 before sending him $500 on Aug. 22 to end the relationship and block him on Snapchat.USA Today had reported on Monday that the F.B.I. was investigating allegations that Mr. Harris asked for sex and nude photos from the brothers who filed the lawsuit, and who are now 14, whom he met at a cheerleading competition.The lawsuit said that Mr. Harris “violated his role as a mentor, trainer, coach, sexually violated the Plaintiffs, and used his position of authority and power over the Plaintiffs.” Mr. Harris befriended the boys when he was 19.“We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the F.B.I. have taken swift action to protect children by investigating, arresting and charging Jerry Harris,” Morgan Stewart and Sarah Klein, lawyers for the boys, said in a statement on Thursday.Three organizations were also named as defendants in the lawsuit in Texas — United States All Star Federation, Varsity Spirit and Cheer Athletics. The lawyers for the boys said they hoped the authorities would investigate the organizations “to determine which of their executives, employees and representatives could have stopped Harris’s abuse and failed to do so.”Cheer Athletics said this week that Mr. Harris was strictly an athlete participant, and that his affiliation with it ended at the National Cheerleaders Association Nationals competition on March 1, 2020.The U.S. All Star Federation said it could not comment because of the ongoing litigation. Varsity Spirit did not reply to a request for comment.Mr. Harris, who was a member of the cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, gained acclaim on the Netflix series for his upbeat attitude and spirited pep talks.“Like everyone we are shocked by this news,” a Netflix spokeswoman said on Thursday. “Any abuse of minors is a terrible crime and we respect the legal process.”Robert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago. More

Jim Carrey, the elastic actor and star of films like “The Mask,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” will be the latest performer to take on the role of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, at “Saturday Night Live.”NBC said on Wednesday that Carrey will play Biden on the coming 46th season of “S.N.L.,” which begins on Oct. 3.Carrey, who has hosted “S.N.L.” several times over the years and rose to stardom on the Fox sketch show “In Living Color,” will be the latest performer to impersonate Biden on “S.N.L.”; the role has previously been played there by Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson and John Mulaney.Alec Baldwin, who has been playing President Trump for “S.N.L.” since 2016, will be returning to that role.Presumably there will be plenty of work for both of him and Carrey as “S.N.L.” ramps up to cover the Presidential election season: NBC said that the show will broadcast five new episodes to start its season, from Oct. 3 through Oct. 31. No hosts or musical guests were immediately announced for these shows.These will be the first live episodes that “S.N.L.” will broadcast since the coronavirus shutdown in March. The show was forced to conclude last season with several remotely produced episodes.NBC said in a news release that it expects to allow “a limited in-studio audience at Rockefeller Center” for these new broadcasts and said that “S.N.L.” will “work closely” with the team of the governor of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, in proceeding with this plan.“S.N.L.” said that it has added three new featured performers to its cast: Lauren Holt, a house performer from the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Los Angeles; Punkie Johnson, who has appeared on shows like “Space Force” and “Corporate”; and Andrew Dismukes, who has worked as a staff writer on “S.N.L.”NBC also said that “S.N.L.” would be working with comedy training programs at the PIT, Second City, the Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade to provide funding for “a scholarship program for students of diverse backgrounds to advance their comedy careers.” More

Jerry Harris, a student featured in the Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Cheer,” was sued on Monday by 14-year-old twin brothers in Texas who say that he solicited sex, sent them sexually explicit messages via text and social media, and asked them to send nude photos of themselves.The lawsuit, filed in the District Court of Tarrant County in Texas, accuses Mr. Harris, who is now 21, of asking one of the boys for oral sex at a cheerleading competition and threatening “imminent physical bodily injury.”The boys are not named in the suit because they are minors.The suit accuses Mr. Harris of “sexual harassment, exploitation abuse and molestation” of the boys. It states they are now “limited in their ability to meaningfully interact with others due to the trauma of childhood sexual abuse.”A representative for Mr. Harris did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. But a spokesperson for him has told People: “We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager. We are confident that when the investigation is completed, the true facts will be revealed.”Mr. Harris, who was a member of the cheerleading team at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, and at one time coached athletes at National Cheerleaders Association camps, gained acclaim on the Netflix series for his upbeat attitude and spirited pep talks and he had endorsement deals with Cheerios and Walmart. He made a guest appearance with other cast members on the Dallas stop of Oprah Winfrey’s nationwide wellness tour in February and held an Instagram chat with Joe Biden in June.He “violated his role as a mentor, trainer, coach, sexually violated the Plaintiffs,” the lawsuit said, “and used his position of authority and power over the Plaintiffs.” It also states that three organizations — the U.S. All Star Federation, Cheer Athletics and Varsity Spirit — that employed Mr. Harris or that organized or oversaw competitions he participated in as an athlete or as a coach when the behavior is alleged to have occurred did not do enough or act quickly enough to protect the boys.Mr. Harris befriended the boys when they were 13 and Mr. Harris was 19, USA Today first reported on Monday. They met him while competing in national cheerleading competitions organized and overseen by Varsity Spirit and the All Star Federation and communicated with him in person, by phone and on social media.According to the suit, they were “star struck” by Mr. Harris, who was nationally known as a cheer personality and coach. He asked for their phone numbers and Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat handles, and, the boys say in the lawsuit, the interactions became sexual in nature “almost immediately.” They also said that Mr. Harris asked that they send him “booty pics.”The complaint accuses Mr. Harris of exploiting the fact that both boys were gay and says he began sending them sexually explicit messages, including photos of his genitals and videos of him masturbating, while continuing to demand that they send nude photos of themselves. At the American Cheerleaders Association Nationals competition in Fort Worth, in February 2019, the document says, Mr. Harris, who was 19, also told one of the boys, who was 13, to follow him into a bathroom. There, the suit says, he asked him to perform a sexual act.The boys’ mother discovered sexually explicit messages, photos and videos from Mr. Harris on their phones and social media accounts around February 2020, according to the complaint. She reported what she found to the three organizations named in the lawsuit, as well as the Fort Worth Police Department and the F.B.I., one of the boys’ lawyers, John C. Manly, said.A spokesman for General Mills, which owns Cheerios, said on Wednesday that the company had suspended its relationship with Mr. Harris as soon as it learned of the allegations. He also said the company had removed all content related to Mr. Harris from its advertising.USA Today also reported on Monday that the F.B.I. was investigating allegations that Mr. Harris asked for sex and nude photos from the boys. The F.B.I. executed “court-authorized law enforcement activity” in Naperville, Ill., on Monday, its Chicago Division said. Mr. Harris owns a home there. He has not been arrested or charged with any crime.The lawsuit seeks more than a million dollars in damages from the U.S. All Star Federation, Cheer Athletics and Varsity Spirit, citing “emotional distress” and “loss of enjoyment of life.” The lawsuit states that the boys will need medical and psychological treatment, therapy and counseling.Sarah Klein, another lawyer for the teenagers, said in a statement that she feared there might be other people in the same situation. “We have seen too many examples of national athletic organizations such as U.S.A. Gymnastics, U.S.A. Swimming and others ignore sexual abuse” by those people who have a high profile, like Mr. Harris, she said. “I fear that there may be other victims in this case, and I urge them to follow the lead of our clients and report their abuse to law enforcement.”Netflix declined a request for comment on Wednesday.Cheer Athletics said that Mr. Harris was strictly an athlete participant, and that his affiliation with it ended at the National Cheerleaders Association Nationals competition on March 1, 2020. More

Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘Fox & Friend-Zoned’President Trump called into “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday and said he planned to call into the program regularly in the final weeks of the campaign. Steve Doocy, a co-host, told the president that Fox News had not agreed to giving him a weekly platform on the morning show.“You may want to do it every week, but Fox is not committed to that,” Doocy said at the end of the 47-minute call. “We’ll take it on a case-by-case basis. And Joe Biden, as well, is always welcome to join us for 47 minutes, like we just did with the president.”[embedded content]“Wow, Steve Doocy just told the president of the United States, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’ Imagine that — he’s the most powerful man in the world and they’re treating him like he’s a Jehovah’s Witness who’s also selling timeshares.” — TREVOR NOAH“President Trump called into ‘Fox & Friends’ this morning and announced he will now appear on the show once a week, though he didn’t say exactly why he’s cutting back.” — SETH MEYERS“I think Trump just got ‘Fox & Friend-zoned.’” — JAMES CORDEN“That’s right, it’ll only be one call a week and 168 hours per call.” — JIMMY FALLON“Wow! That is cold. That’s like ending a date with, ‘So I’ll see you next Saturday, and every Saturday after that,’ and she says, ‘Uh, you may want to see me next Saturday, but Katie is not committed to that. We’ll take it on a case-by-case basis.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT“But still, man, I want to give props to Steve Doocy for inviting Joe Biden on the show to make it seem like ‘Fox & Friends’ is a balanced news show. That was pretty cool. Yeah, at the end he was just like: ‘Just to be clear, we will also talk with Joe Biden; it’s only fair. All right, coming up next, are Democrats going to burn your house down while you sleep? We’ll discuss, but the answer is yes.’”— TREVOR NOAHThe Punchiest Punchlines (47 Minutes Edition)“The fact that Doocy knew it was 47 minutes shows you how annoyed he was. Not 45 minutes, not an hour — 47 minutes exactly. That’s someone who spent most of a conversation staring at their watch.” — TREVOR NOAH“You know it’s been a great chat when the person you’re talking to says exactly how many minutes it’s been: ‘Well, we’ve been talking about 47 minutes, Grandma.’”— JIMMY FALLON“And by the way, if Melania ever wanted to have an affair, Trump’s Fox News interviews would be the perfect time for her to do it. [imitating Melania] ‘OK, Eduardo, my husband just called into Fox now, so we have anywhere between 45 minutes and three hours to make cold, indifferent love.’” — TREVOR NOAH“To put that in perspective, without commercials this show isn’t even 47 minutes long — and think about how long this feels some nights.” — JAMES CORDEN“After 47 minutes of talking on Fox News, Trump finally had to get off the phone and go back to his other major responsibility, watching Fox News.” — JAMES CORDEN“Forty-seven minutes. I don’t want to talk to anyone on the phone for that long.” — JAMES CORDENThe Bits Worth WatchingStephen Colbert introduced a new initiative to help Americans learn “how to vote early, easily and safely” in the states where they live.What We’re Excited About on Wednesday NightThe actress Cynthia Nixon will talk with Seth Meyers on “Late Night” about starring opposite Sarah Paulson in Netflix’s new series “Ratched.”Also, Check This OutImageA new collection of works from Audre Lorde suggests the writing of the self-professed “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” is more timely than ever. More