Rachel Starr, the longtime personal friend of Joe Exotic, responds to claims that Carole Baskin's husband was found alive. In the first season of Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King, it was suggested that Carole Baskin was involved in her husband Don Lewis’ disappearance. Not long after the show launched, tips began trickling into the sheriff’s office in Hillsborough County, Florida, with suspicions Baskin was responsible for her husband’s vanishing. During a now-viral interview from 2021 on ITV's This Morning, Baskin revealed Tiger King season two “produced” a letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that claimed Don Lewis was found “alive and well,” at least as of 2002. If he were alive today, Don Lewis would be 84 years old.

“They said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica,” Baskin said. “And yet all this hay has been made about me having something to do with his disappearance when Homeland Security has known where he is, at least since back then.” Indeed, the DHS document was shown in season two of the Tiger King series, and she told ITV she was “shocked” and had to watch Tiger King season two again just to see how they contextualized it. “When they presented a letter that looks to be from Homeland Security saying that Don was alive and well five years after I saw him the last time … then I reached out to the FBI and said I want a copy of that letter,” Baskin recalled. “I want to know what that says because part of it was redacted, and I don’t know who the people involved were. I don’t know how long it will take for me to get that, but I’m really curious about that.”

  Screenshots of the documentary showing the contents of the supposed DHS letter were posted to Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue website with the following statement: “For everyone who still wants to believe that Carole killed Don, then please explain to us why you think armchair detectives or you are better informed than the Special Agent in Charge at the FBI in this Homeland Security Document which says ‘Don Lewis is currently alive and well in Costa Rica.’ This was reported to Jorge Fernandez of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office by the SAC at the FBI, according to this letter.”

But is it true?

It doesn't look like it is. Florida’s Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shot down Baskin’s claim when reached for confirmation.

“We have not received any communication from our federal partners that confirms the location of missing person Mr. Don Lewis,” Fentress Fountain, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, told The New York Post. “The investigation into Don Lewis’ disappearance remains a priority for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, as do all missing person cases.”

We spoke with porn star Rachel Starr, who has been friends with Joe Exotic for years. She appeared in the first season of the Netflix series "Tiger King." Joe Exotic once called Rachel his "best friend," and in another interview, he said she was like his sister. Joe Exotic and Rachel Starr have known each other for over a decade. She called the Netflix docuseries “a skewed version of the truth.”

“The animals were fully taken care of, above and beyond,” she said. “Very clean cages, quality food, and lots of attention were given to them many times daily. I highly disagree with how the documentary portrays GW Zoo and the [condition of the] animals.”

The disappearance of Carole Baskin's husband was of major interest to the general public during the height of Tiger King’s popularity, and any news of him potentially being alive would have easily made headlines in major news outlets. So why now is this new coming out? Has Homeland security really been sitting on proof all this time that her husband, Don Lewis, has been alive? That's exactly what we asked Rachel Starr.

"It's interesting that Homeland Security, which was only founded in November of 2002, has time to do such extensive research on a missing person in a foreign country the month prior. That's not suspicious at all," said Rachel Starr. "Beyond that, the FBI and Homeland Security are two very different organizations. One doesn't tend to speak on behalf of the other. So Carole Baskin's statement doesn't make any sense. It's all very convoluted and non-sensical."

Joe Exotic himself has commented on the status of Don Lewis on his Instagram, saying, "If Don Lewis Is Alive, I Will Voluntarily Go To Death Row. Carole had him declared dead 5 years after SHE reported him missing so she could collect the millions in insurance money and his total estate. Reporters and the public need to put your crack pipes down and use some common sense. She would have to not only have to give all of that money back, but it would be fraud all of these years that she had a court declare him dead to collect all of that money." Rachel Starr remains in limited contact with Joe Exotic while he is behind bars. Initially, Exotic was in custody in Fort Worth, Texas, near where Rachel Starr lives. However, he has since been transferred to a medical facility in North Carolina due to a cancer diagnosis. His release date is set for September 2037, but he has attempted to appeal that sentence several times.

"Please don't make me die in prison waiting for a chance to be free," he tearfully told a federal judge who re-sentenced him on a murder-for-hire charge, in January of last year.