On Monday night, Carole Baskin of “Tiger King” fame was eliminated from “Dancing With The Stars,” finishing in 14th place. Afterwards, she spoke out to send a message to her haters in an interview that followed her elimination.

Baskin and her partner, professional dancer Pasha Pashkov, were eliminated from the ABC reality television show following their Samba to “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King. When asked by Entertainment Tonight if she had anything to say to her haters and supporters after her elimination, Baskin replied, “I love you both, because you’ve all kept it in the press.”

“With all the horrible things that have been said and all the wonderful things that have been said, people are talking about big cats and why they don’t belong in cages,” she added, “and nothing could make me happier than that.”

Baskin went on to say that though she enjoyed her time on the show, she was not surprised to be eliminated so soon.

“I don’t feel shocked at all,” Baskin said. “The people who stayed on the show can really, really dance, and that’s what the show is all about.”

“I’m thankful that Dancing With the Stars gave me the opportunity [for] getting the message out there about big cats,” the animal rights activist continued. “So I’ve accomplished everything I came here to do.”

Baskin also had nothing but kind words for Pashkov.

“I had no expectations about what this would be like, other than I didn’t think anybody could teach me to dance in a million years,” she said.

Baskin was happy that before her performance on Monday, she was able to share a message about the dangers of illegal big cat breeding in her pre-taped package.

“I think this has been an amazing opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and get my message out there,” Baskin said.

Baskin and Pashkov had been in the bottom two the week before, only to be saved by judge Derek Hough, who picked them to stay over NBA legend Charles Oakley and Emma Slater. Last night, however, Hough said that he could not save them twice in a row, sending them home over the other couple that landed in the bottom, Anne Heche and Keo Motsepe.

This piece originally appeared in UpliftingToday.com and is used by permission.

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