Over the weekend, much of the pop culture discourse was devoted to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's sexually charged anthem "WAP" and its accompanying video. While reaction to the song has been mixed, one public figure has spoken out against the duo's treatment of pussies — fierce feline protector Carole Baskin.
The Tiger King subject and staunch animal rights crusader has spoken out against the use of tigers in the "WAP" video. In a letter shared with Billboard, Baskin said she was particularly worried about the video's glamorization of owning exotic animals as pets.
"My guess is that most people won't even see the Photoshopped cats in the scenes because the rest of it is so lurid," Baskin said. "I was happy to see that it does appear to all be Photoshopped. It didn't look like the cats were really in the rooms with the singers. In fact, probably most of the rooms were Photoshopped in via green screen."
She added, "That being said, you have to pose a wildcat in front of a green screen to get that image and that doesn't happen in the wild."
While her understanding of the Adobe Creative Suite may be suspect, Baskin is most certainly correct that the video, from director Colin Tilley, uses plenty of green screen. Because of this, she has suggested that the tigers were likely from one of the exotic pet dealers she has been battling for years.
"It can't happen in sanctuaries like ours where cats have plenty of room to avoid a green screen (or would shred it if offered access and could die from ingesting it)," she deduced. "That tells me they probably dealt with one of the big cat pimps, who makes a living from beating, shocking and starving cats to make them stand on cue in front of a green screen in a studio. That's never good for the cat."
Baskin concluded, "The worst part is that it glamorizes the idea of rich people having tigers as pets. That makes every ignorant follower want to imitate by doing the same. After tigers are too old for pay to play sessions by people like Joe Exotic, Bhagavan Antle, Marc McCarthy, Mario Tabraue and others, they become a liability instead of an asset. While I think most are destroyed behind closed gates at that point, some end up being given away to people who want to have a tiger to show off. That never works out and the cats either die or end up dumped in sanctuaries or, worse yet, breeding mills. Either way, it's always abusive to the cat."
Watch "WAP" below.
The Tiger King subject and staunch animal rights crusader has spoken out against the use of tigers in the "WAP" video. In a letter shared with Billboard, Baskin said she was particularly worried about the video's glamorization of owning exotic animals as pets.
"My guess is that most people won't even see the Photoshopped cats in the scenes because the rest of it is so lurid," Baskin said. "I was happy to see that it does appear to all be Photoshopped. It didn't look like the cats were really in the rooms with the singers. In fact, probably most of the rooms were Photoshopped in via green screen."
She added, "That being said, you have to pose a wildcat in front of a green screen to get that image and that doesn't happen in the wild."
While her understanding of the Adobe Creative Suite may be suspect, Baskin is most certainly correct that the video, from director Colin Tilley, uses plenty of green screen. Because of this, she has suggested that the tigers were likely from one of the exotic pet dealers she has been battling for years.
"It can't happen in sanctuaries like ours where cats have plenty of room to avoid a green screen (or would shred it if offered access and could die from ingesting it)," she deduced. "That tells me they probably dealt with one of the big cat pimps, who makes a living from beating, shocking and starving cats to make them stand on cue in front of a green screen in a studio. That's never good for the cat."
Baskin concluded, "The worst part is that it glamorizes the idea of rich people having tigers as pets. That makes every ignorant follower want to imitate by doing the same. After tigers are too old for pay to play sessions by people like Joe Exotic, Bhagavan Antle, Marc McCarthy, Mario Tabraue and others, they become a liability instead of an asset. While I think most are destroyed behind closed gates at that point, some end up being given away to people who want to have a tiger to show off. That never works out and the cats either die or end up dumped in sanctuaries or, worse yet, breeding mills. Either way, it's always abusive to the cat."
Watch "WAP" below.
