Joe Exotic Takes the Reigns

On March 20, Netflix released the first episode of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” This show is a true crime docuseries centered around the mysterious underworld of big cat breeding. Since the nation is in the midst of a global pandemic, the docuseries could not have been released at a better time. Many people have found themselves glued to their screens, binge watching this surprisingly enticing series. The show is eight episodes long, each episode ranging from 40 minutes to an hour. It definitely lives up to its name because each episode featured its fair share of mayhem, murder and madness.

“Tiger King” follows the life of Joe Schreibvogel a.k.a Joe Maldonado-Passage a.k.a Joe Exotic, and his rise to Tiger King-hood. It highlights the ups and downs of the private zoo keeping business as an enterprise, and uncovers the shady pursuits of many major private zoos across the nation. Although it is clear as the show goes on that everyone involved did at one point entangle themselves in questionable transactions, one cannot help but to sympathize and unconsciously condone much of Joe Exotic’s outlandish behavior. As an openly gay man who is colorful, charismatic, flamboyant and extremely interesting to watch, viewers were instantly hooked to Joe Exotic’s country-boy charm.

Real life testimonies were included in the series from people who worked closely with Joe Exotic at the G.W. Zoo. Kelci Saffery, Erik Cowie and John Reinke were his most trusted staff at the zoo. All three of them worked for Joe Exotic for 10 plus years. Although they all had different experiences, they can attest to the fact that Joe Exotic was power hungry and would do anything to achieve infinite fame.

From the beginning, producers made it obvious that Joe Exotic wanted to become a star. In his early days, Joe Exotic made it a point to record everything for his internet show that never surpassed more than 80 viewers; he was a country singer, loved shooting guns and most of all, loved his precious tigers. In his internet show, Joe Exotic wanted to not only showcase his love of the tigers, but also his personality. His love for tigers, however, was really a facade that masked the maliciousness of his true intentions. Joe Exotic pushed boundaries that were anything but ethical in an attempt to maximize his fame.

In Joe Exotic’s book, public enemy number one went by the name of Carole Baskin. Baskin is an animal rights activist and a zoo owner from Tampa, Florida. Joe Exotic hated her because she wanted to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would have banned the private ownership of tigers; that was her greatest mistake. Joe Exotic would constantly make jokes about killing Baskin and would post videos of himself shooting dolls exemplifying what he would do if he and Baskin ever met in person. He would also constantly insinuate that Baskin killed her late husband Don Lewis. Their feud costed them both millions of dollars and eventually landed Joe Exotic in jail after he got busted on charges for his part in her murder-for-hire plot. Joe Exotic was also busted on 19 counts of animal abuse, including the killing, selling and breeding of tigers; he is currently serving 22 years in prison.

Not only did the show focus on Baskin, but it focused on Joe Exotic’s willingness to breed baby tigers, knowing that they would spend their lives in captivity, never being able to live out their life in the jungle. One heartbreaking story in the show discusses a friendship between two chimps. Joe Exotic kept them in cages for 10 years and when they were finally let out, they hugged each other for hours. This only further proves that in his fight with Baskin and the law, along with his yearn for fame and shady deals with Jeff Lowe, better known as Allen Gloven, the hitman in the saga of “Tiger King,” Joe Exotic lost sight of what was really important - the tigers.

People who worked closely with Joe Exotic also complained about the conditions that they were living in as many of them lived within the zoo. The trailers that they lived in were dirty, barely had AC and had rats. Joe Exotic would treat his staff terribly and even worse if the cameras were on. One of his staff members even lost his arm in an encounter with a tiger and Joe Exotic offered no compensation.

A large chunk of the show was also dedicated to Joe Exotic’s love life. He was first married to John Finlay and later introduced Travis Maldanado to his relationship. Their three-way wedding was heartwarming as they were all dressed in pink dress shirts and wore flowers. Although their relationship seemed cute on the outside, however, their happiness masked the candid truth. The truth being that Finlay and Maldanado were not gay at all. Joe Exotic was very manipulative and used their addiction to meth in order to keep them around. He also bribed them with material things in order to keep up the fantasy. Unfortunately, Joe Exotic lost both of his husbands, one to an outside marriage and the other to an accidental suicide. Bottom line is, Joe Exotic was not as good-hearted as people thought he was.

Overall, the story of “Tiger King” is very interesting and a highly recommended watch. Fans are already casting people to play in the “Tiger King” movie, if it were to ever be produced, and cannot wait to see what is coming next.