Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness ahead. Is Joe Exotic from Netflix’s Tiger King still in jail? That thought probably crossed your mind if you finished Netflix’s new docuseries, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, in record time and are wondering what happened after the show finished filming.
To recap: Joseph Maldonado-Passage (a.k.a. Joe Exotic), the founder of South Carolina’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, was convicted for two counts of murder-for-hire, eight violations of the Lacey Act (a conservation law) and nine violations of the Endangered Species Act in April 2019. Among his alleged crimes was a plot to kill his rival, Carole Baskin, the CEO of Florida’s Big Cat Rescue, and the illegal deaths of five of his tigers, who were found buried in the back of his park. Joe was also accused of illegally selling his cats, some as young as two weeks old.
He was sentenced to 22 years in prison on January 22, 2020, and as of March, he’s been incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth, in Fort Worth, Texas. But Joe doesn’t plan to serve all of his time. After Tiger King was released, TMZ reported that Joe is seeking a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump on the basis that he was falsely imprisoned.
Image: Netflix.
He also filed a $94 million lawsuit against the United States Federal government. In the suit, he asked for close to $79 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and and the U.S. Department of Interior for incorrectly listing the “generic tiger” on the endangered species list, which he believes he equated to “stealing my property and promoting an animal rights agenda,” according to TMZ. Joe also alleges that he was “discriminated against because he is the only person charged with this statute because [he] is an openly gay male with the largest collection of generic tigers and crossbreeds,” TMZ reports. For that reason, Joe wants $78,840,000 for the loss of his personal property and 18 years’ worth of his work with tigers.
But it doesn’t end there. TMZ also reports that Joe wants an additional $15 million because of the way the federal government handled his case. He accused his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, of lying to federal agents and planting evidence against him. He also accused another former colleague of being an informant for the government, and that all of his drama led to the death of his mother, Shirley.
The case is still ongoing. But it looks like there will be a lot to talk about for Tiger King season 2.