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Carole Baskin's reality TV dreams are keeping her in Hollywood, but we're told her animal rescue center won't take a hit while she's on the other side of the country.

The 'Tiger King' star was booted from "Dancing with the Stars" Monday, and now she's setting her sights on shopping a new reality show about animal exploitation ... but fear not, our sources say Carole's Big Cat Rescue is in good hands.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... her daughter, Jaime, runs the animal care part of BCR -- Carole's mainly been doing advocacy anyway -- so the exotic animals at the Tampa sanctuary won't suffer while Carole's away.

We're told Jaime's overseeing hundreds of volunteers at the sanctuary, and they handle the day-to-day animal care, so that essential function's not in peril.

The volunteers are super valuable right now ... our sources say Carole and her husband, Howard, were among the 10 staff members who were laid off at Big Cat Rescue when the pandemic hit, and the rescue still can't hire any more staff to help out.

Carole and Howard are still working full time advocating for Big Cat Rescue, we're told, but they aren't collecting a paycheck at this point.

Fact is ... Carole's got other revenue streams anyways. She had a busy stint on 'DWTS' and now she's producing and starring in a reality show she's actively shopping.

Our sources say the show is primarily about the work Carole and Howard have been undertaking for years -- tracking down animal abusers, exposing them and bringing them to justice through the legal system -- only now there's a film crew in tow.

A couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers are as loyal as ever -- recently getting together after years apart ... partly in the name of cheering Carole Baskin's reality TV demise.

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who starred in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- met up for the first time in nearly 3 years out in Rockford, IL ... where they're set to star in an ad for Insurance King, opposite 'Diff'rent Strokes' actor Todd Bridges.

While hanging out Monday ahead of Tuesday's shoot, they happened to catch the results of this week's episode of 'Dancing with the Stars' ... including Carole's elimination after surviving a few weeks now. Check out how they reacted to the news -- old rivalries are alive and well!

Yeah, there's no love lost between these once feuding big cat caretakers -- John even sounds a little Joe-ish here by calling CB one of his former boss's fave catchphrases.

As for the commercial they're set to be in, unclear exactly what it'll entail -- but based on the on-camera convo they had with Todd ... sounds like it's written well and should be chock full of laughs. Apparently, Todd's worked with Insurance King before and vouches for 'em.

Carole Baskin wrote that she would have killed her first husband to get out of her marriage in an old letter to Don Lewis' first wife, but despite that seemingly shocking reveal ... Carole says it desperately needs context.

The ID channel is airing a special on Joe Exotic and all his related 'Tiger King' craziness this weekend, including ongoing speculation Baskin played a role in Don's 1997 disappearance.

We got a sneak peek of one piece of evidence the show's investigators claim lends credence to the speculation -- a long letter Carole sent to Don's wife, Gladys, in August 1990 ... while in the midst of having an affair with him.

The letter seems to detail her relationship with Don, but includes a disturbing line about her first husband, Michael Murdock. Carole wrote ... "I had to get out of my marriage and would have eventually killed my husband to do it."

Baskin confirms with TMZ that she wrote those words, but adds ... "I only meant it in the context of self-defense as Mike Murdock was physically abusive to me to the point of causing me to fear for my life."

Carole has previously claimed numerous times that Murdock -- who she wed in 1979 and is the father of her daughter, Jamie -- was extremely abusive.

Nevertheless, retired homicide investigator Jim Rathmann says he finds the letter very interesting ... and points out it was written just 7 years before Don went missing.

Carole and Don both divorced their first spouses and married in 1991. Baskin has recently insisted -- yet again -- she had nothing to do with his disappearance and claims she was the only person trying to get him mental health help before it happened.

Joe Exotic thinks the walls are closing around Carole Baskin ... and he's hoping her missing husband's family finally gets some answers and justice.

The 'Tiger King' rips his longtime nemesis in a phone interview from jail, and says Carole's about to pay for years of what he sees as bullying.

A source close to Joe tells us the interview was recorded long before Carole started "Dancing with the Stars" -- back when he was behind bars in Grady County Jail Oklahoma -- but it's clear he's all for Don Lewis' family putting renewed attention on his mysterious disappearance.

During the call, part of a new Discovery ID special, Joe says it's high time Don's fam finally finds out what really happened to him.

As you know ... Carole's always maintained her innocence in Don's case, but the Lewis family recently put out a $100,000 reward -- and during a commercial aired during 'DWTS' they asked, "Do you know if Carole Baskin was involved?"

As for his case ... Joe's still insisting he was set up, and also offers an explanation for why he put down 5 tigers at his infamous zoo.

Jerry Harris is no longer giving mat talks to paying customers ... his extremely popular Cameo page has been put on pause following his arrest for child pornography.

The star of Netflix's uber-popular cheerleading show "Cheer" used to charge folks up to $150-a-pop for personalized videos, usually in the form of the mat talks that made him a fan favorite on the show, but now one of his cash cows is out to pasture.

Instead of being able to pay for messages from Jerry, his Cameo page is now just his bio and a button that says, "Notify me when Jerry Harris is available."

As you know, Jerry's got serious legal issues at the moment ... he was arrested last week in Illinois and hit with a charge of production of child pornography. He's also being sued for sex abuse of minors.

It's unclear if and when Jerry's Cameo page will return, or if it will be deleted from the site ... we reached out to Cameo, but the company would not offer comment.

The FBI's not done building its case against Jerry Harris -- federal agents in Chicago are asking for any individuals under the age of 18 who may have been victimized by the disgraced "Cheer" star to come forward.

The feds have launched a "Seeking Victim Information" webpage related to the investigation of Harris, who was arrested last week and is facing a federal child pornography charge for allegedly enticing 2 underage teen boys to send him sexually explicit images of themselves.

The FBI says it's seeking the public’s help in identifying any additional minors who may have been contacted by Harris and asked to produce or view graphic images or engage in sexual contact.

Victims may have communicated with Harris via Snapchat or Instagram ... according to the feds.

As we reported ... the feds claim Harris admitted to many of the allegations against him, including soliciting and receiving child pornography on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors.

Carole Baskin participating in "Dancing with the Stars" proves she doesn't give a rip about the animals in her care ... or so claims Doc Antle, who has some harsh thoughts.

The 'Tiger King' star tore into Carole in this exclusive clip, obtained by TMZ. In what's part of a new documentary Doc's heavily featured in, he openly wonders how Carole could be away for weeks of 'DWTS' ... IF she really cares for the animals at her sanctuary.

For him, it just doesn't add up ... and he essentially calls Carole a hypocrite for something she's previously said about her "best friends."

As we're told ... Carole's hubby, Howard, is handling the day-to-day operation of her Big Cat Rescue ... along with her daughter, Jamie. Our sources say they also have 100 volunteers helping out.

Still, Doc says that wouldn't fly at most reputable animal sanctuaries, and he thinks it reflects poorly on Carole.

As for how he thinks she's doing so far on the pasodoble front, Doc tells TMZ he thinks Carole's a "terrible dancer." Aside from that, he's digging the season thus far.

"Selling Sunset" star Christine Quinn feels very confident Netflix will bring back the hit show for a fourth season ... which she calls good vibes for her and her "thirsty bitches."

We got Christine outside The London Hotel in WeHo and asked her if Netflix had tipped its hand about extending the show's run, and ... womp, womp. She said they haven't anything yet, but she definitely argued why it should be a no-brainer.

You can tell Christine's plugged in and ready to sell "Selling Sunset" to any Netflix execs sitting on the fence. She rattled off some stats for us.

Now, her costar, Chrishell Stause, dropped what seems a big clue by posting a pic with the rest of the gang with the caption, "Carpe Diem!! Celebrating good news we can't tell you about" along with the hashtag #SellingSunset.

Huge clue? Anyway, Christine says she doesn't anticipate any big changes in the cast because, in her words, "all the bitches are so thirsty they'll do anything for a dollar." Again, her words.

It's worth noting ... Brett Oppenheim left the firm to start his own brokerage. Brett and Jason, who are twins, ran The Oppenheim Group ... the real estate firm which the show centered around. But, Christine says fans shouldn't worry about Brett's departure 'cause she thinks he'll still be around ... assuming season 4's a go.

Navarro College says Jerry Harris' arrest should not reflect on the school or its celebrated cheer squad ... because he wasn't part of their program even before the child pornography bust.

As you know ... Jerry, one of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docuseries "Cheer," was arrested Thursday and hit with a charge of production of child pornography.

Navarro College, whose cheer team is featured on Netflix's uber-popular show, tells TMZ ... Jerry left campus in March due to the pandemic and completed his degree in May. We're told he did not return to Navarro this fall, despite the fact he could have continued cheering.

Remember ... at the end of "Cheer" season 1, Jerry goes off to the University of Louisville. We're told he enrolled there, and participated in cheer, but left in 2019 after one semester and returned to Navarro, rejoining its cheer team to resume filming with Netflix.

So, Jerry was cheering for Navarro before the coronavirus outbreak, but he hasn't been on campus since March, and hasn't been affiliated with the school since May, when he earned an associate's degree in science.

It's interesting ... Jerry did an interview before his arrest saying he wasn't sure what his plan was after graduating. He's since deleted his Instagram, which had pics of him in the Navarro cheer uniform.

Jerry Harris' cheerleading coach, Monica Aldama, says her "heart is shattered into a million pieces" following Jerry's arrest for child pornography.

Monica -- the head coach of the Navarro College squad featured on the Netflix docuseries, "Cheer" -- has broken her silence on the arrest of her popular "mat talk" leader, saying ... "I am devastated by this shocking, unexpected news."

She adds ... "Our children must be protected from abuse and exploitation, and I'm praying hard for the victims and everyone affected."

As we reported ... Jerry was arrested Thursday morning in Illinois and has been hit with a charge of production of child pornography. According to the feds, he allegedly contacted 2 teenage boys online, and repeatedly asked them to send nude images of themselves.

Harris allegedly began contacting the boys in December 2018 when he was 19 and they were 13.

The feds claim Jerry has admitted to engaging in continuous social media conversations with the minors that were sexual in nature and attempting to entice them into performing sex acts with him in person ... including at cheerleading events.

As we reported, the FBI had launched an investigation into the matter -- and Jerry's 2 alleged victims have also sued him.

Jerry Harris -- one of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docuseries "Cheer" -- has been arrested for child pornography.

Jerry was arrested Thursday morning in Illinois and is being hit with a charge of production of child pornography ... according to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick.

As we reported ... Harris was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex back in May 2019. However, according to the criminal complaint, we're told he's been arrested because he allegedly asked teens for photos, which they sent to him.

According to the feds … the parent of 2 male children, both 14, claims Harris had contacted both of the boys online and “repeatedly solicited child pornography images and videos.” Harris allegedly began contacting the boys in December 2018.

The minors provided law enforcement with multiple screenshots of communications with Harris via Snapchat and text messages, along with evidence of apparent FaceTime calls with Harris.

According to the complaint, Harris was 19 at the time and the boys were 13.

The feds allege Harris also attempted to solicit sex with the boys on multiple occasions, including at cheerleading events.

The criminal complaint says Harris was interviewed on September 14 and admitted to engaging in continuous social media conversations with the minors that were sexual in nature, attempting to entice them into performing sex acts with him in person, and to soliciting and receiving child pornography on Snapchat from at least between 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors.

On top of that, Jerry's 2 alleged victims have sued him ... claiming he groomed them into sending the nude photos -- and they also claim he demanded sexual acts.

Jerry is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago Thursday afternoon for the child porn charge.

Tim Stark -- known as one of the players in the exotic animal world on 'Tiger King' -- has been found in contempt of a court order in a strange case involving ... you guessed it, zoo animals.

According to legal docs ... the court ordered all of the animals belonging to Stark's Wildlife in Need organization in Indiana to be removed last week by the Indianapolis Zoological Society.

Problem is ... many of those animals have gone missing since the court's order, and now Stark's accused of masterminding the effort to stash them.

Stark "voiced his strong desire in open court to re-locate the animals in his own way" ... according to the judge's contempt order. As a result, the judge ordered him "immediately remanded to the custody of the Marion County Sheriff."

We reached out to the Sheriff for more details ... no word back so far.

Two teens are taking "Cheer" star Jerry Harris to court for grooming them into sending nude photos and demanding sexual favors ... those are the allegations in a new lawsuit filed on their behalf.

The plaintiffs are minor twin brothers who are part of the cheerleading community in Fort Worth, TX -- where they say they first encountered Harris around 2018 at high-level competitions and became acquainted. From there, things allegedly turned sexual fast.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the brothers were starstruck by Harris when first getting to know him, as he was already a well-respected cheerleader on the champion Navarro college team, and had also filmed for Netflix's "Cheer" documentary.

In the lawsuit, they claim Harris almost immediately began taking them into his inner circle, befriending them on different social media platforms ... and, eventually, soliciting "booty pics" from them -- exploiting the fact they were both gay.

The docs say the boys reluctantly complied at times with Harris' requests, but go on to claim his requests became more frequent and more offline ... meaning he would allegedly solicit sexual acts from them in person, while also allegedly sending sexually explicit photos and video to them too.

In one alleged instance in 2019, one of the brothers claims Harris led him to a bathroom during a cheer competition and cornered him in a stall, where he allegedly begged the kid for oral sex. The boy says he managed to take off when his bro and teammates blew up his phone.

Mind you, at the time during these interactions ... the boys say they were just 13 and 14 years old, and that Harris was over 18. They also claim they've discovered other minors Harris has allegedly harassed, while adding he's been allowed to remain as a high-level coach and mentor at several different cheer organizations despite his alleged "past and ongoing sexual abuse of children." Some of these organizations, including United States All Star Federation and Varsity Spirit, are also defendants in the lawsuit.

Jerry Harris -- one of the cheerleading stars of Netflix's uber-popular show "Cheer" -- is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at a home in Illinois Monday, following up on the allegations against Harris ... according to USA Today. At this point, Harris -- a fan favorite while cheering for Navarro College on "Cheer" -- has not been charged.

Authorities were reportedly made aware of the allegations when Varsity, a private company in the cheerleading industry, alerted cops in Florida and Texas. The company learned about the claims of "inappropriate sexual conduct" last month.

According to the report, Varsity shared 2 screenshots with police, including an alleged Snapchat message of Jerry's face with the message, "Would you ever want to ****."

As you know ... Jerry rose to fame during the Netflix docu-series following his cheer team, and he became known as the "King of Mat Talk."

Rob Gronkowski is gonna like this ... Netflix's hit show "Outer Banks" is already filming season 2, and that means coronavirus precautions for the cast and crew.

Here's the scene on the 'Outer Banks' set this week, as filming gets rolling on James Island in South Carolina ... the main characters are all in masks, what with the pandemic and all.

You can still make out who everyone is behind their face covering ... Madelyn Cline, who plays Sarah Cameron, and Chase Stokes, who plays John B, are masked up in the car.

And, here's Madison Bailey (Kiara), Jonathan Daviss (Pope) and Rudy Pankow (JJ) walking through a field and keeping their social distance. This is how it's done!

As we reported ... Rob says he's all about that POGUE LIFE, as 'Outer Banks' season 1 became his obsession during the NFL offseason, binge-watching the show in 2 days with his S.I. Swim model girlfriend Camille Kostek.

The ending pissed a lot of folks off, kooks and pogues alike, but maybe people will be happier with the end of season 2.

At least they're filming!!!

Carole Baskin's got the eye of the tiger as she prepares for her big "Dancing with the Stars" debut ... and she's practicing her moves in a way that would make Billy Idol proud.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... she's been dancing with herself in her Los Angeles apartment during her downtime this week as she gets ready for her first 'DWTS' number.

Carole's gearing up for her first dance, which will be to "Eye of the Tiger," but we're told she's not practicing to any specific music ... just the music in her head.

With Carole only getting 3 to 4 hours a day of official 'DWTS' rehearsal, she's taking her work home ... we're told she feels she needs more practice and moved the furniture in her living room to create her own dance floor.

Carole's documenting her progress too ... we're told she's recording her practice dances on her phone so she can look back and see how far she's come.

Remember ... Carole studied hard and cheaply, before getting on the 'DWTS' set ... picking up her ballroom basics by watching video tutorials on YouTube.

With some rehearsals under her belt, we're told Carole is mostly focusing on dance steps and staying on tempo when she's home alone.

Carole's costume for her first number will have no feathers or fur, and our sources describe the outfit as a "sunset" with a lot of "cattitude" ... whatever that means.

We're told Carole instantly fell in love with the getup ... and she's already asked producers if she will be allowed to keep it or purchase it after the show, but producers haven't indicated a final decision.