Netflix’s Tiger King Doc Antle was on stage with Britney Spears for iconic 2001 VMA performance

30 March 2020, 11:57

By Sophie Thompson

Doc Antle from Netflix's Tiger King has resurfaced in the news after it turns out he featured in Britney Spears' 2001 VMA performance. Here's all the details...

We will never stop talking about Tiger King. And while we spend our free time working out if Carole really did murder her husband and whether there's a season 2 coming live from jail, we've just got even more tea on the dirty big cat docuseries - and it involves Britney Spears.

READ MORE: Tiger King’s John Finlay got new teeth and the internet is going wild

Two things that are seemingly unconnected have a lot more in common than we first thought, because it turns out that some of the most familiar zoo keepers in the show have actually appeared in some of her most iconic performances.

In unearthed images from the VMA's 2001, rival zoo keeper to Joe Exotic, Doc Antle, can be seen stood behind Britney during her "I'm a Slave 4 U" performance that stans will remember, featured a lot of wild animals.

Known for her dance with a bright yellow python snake named Banana, the back of the stage featured a huge tiger, which unbeknownst to most eyes, was actually being handled by the Doc Antle himself in the cage, only with a slightly less-grey head of hair. Life imitates art, huh?

In the Netflix true-crime series, the 60-year-old frequently mentions his history in the entertainment industry, bringing animals in for movies such as Dr Dolittle and Ace Ventura as well as music videos and performances, but never specifically mentioned Britney.

We'd recognise that goatee anywhere...

Britney Spears Performs ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ at the 2001 Video Music Awards | MTV

But he's not the only one.

Despite the fact we're fairly certain that's Antle, a photo from the following year has gone viral on social media, of who people think is Carole Baskin herself sat front row next to Britney at the awards in 2002.

While we're not convinced that it's actually the Big Cat Rescue owner, we have to say, the person sat next to the 'Work B*tch' similar does bear a striking resemblance with Carole animal print outfit choice, boho energy and similar facial features.

The internet seems pretty convinced, but given the previous years performance including so many exotic animals, we can't imagine this is something Carole would be too happy about. Carole, this is your chance to prove us wrong, drop the selfies.

Tiger King season 2 better have BTS content.