Joe Exotic | |
|---|---|
.png) Mugshot of Exotic in 2018 | |
| Born | Joseph Allen Schreibvogel March 5, 1963 Garden City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Other names | Joseph Maldonado-Passage and Jonathan Michael Reavley[citation needed] |
| Television |
|
| Political party | Libertarian (2018–2019) Democratic (2023–2024) Independent (2016, 2024–present)[1] |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth[2] |
| Spouses | |
| Conviction(s) |
|
| Criminal penalty | 21 years in prison |
| Accomplice(s) | Brian Rhyne (1986–2001; his death) JC Hartpence (2002–2003) John Finlay (2003–2014) Seth Posey (2021–2023) |
Date apprehended | September 7, 2018 |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Joseph Allen Maldonado (né Schreibvogel; born March 5, 1963), known professionally as Joe Exotic and nicknamed "The Tiger King", is an American media personality and businessman who operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (also known as the G.W. Zoo, Tiger King Park and formerly the Garold Wayne Exotic Animal Memorial Park) in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, from 1999 to 2018.
Born in Kansas, Exotic and his family moved to Texas, where he enrolled at Pilot Point High School.[3] After graduation, Exotic briefly served as the chief of police in Eastvale. He then opened a pet store with his brother, but after his brother's death in 1997, Exotic sold the store and founded the G.W. Zoo. During his tenure as director there, he also held magic shows and cub-petting events at venues across the U.S., hosted an online talk show, and worked with producer Rick Kirkham to create a reality television series about himself, but this latter effort ended when most footage was destroyed in a fire in 2015. In 2016, Exotic ran as an independent in the 2016 presidential election, earning attention as a novelty candidate due to his eccentric persona and unconventional campaign style.[4]
Exotic left the G.W. Zoo in June 2018 and was arrested three months later on suspicion of hiring two men to murder Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, with whom he had a complicated rivalry.[5] In 2019, Exotic was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire for the plot to kill Baskin.[5] In 2021, he worked with attorney John Michael Phillips to file a motion for a new trial, and on July 15, 2021, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the convictions for the two murder attempts were wrongly treated as separate. The trial court reduced his sentence by 1 year, resentencing him to 21 years in late January 2022.[6] In 2023, Exotic announced his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat.[7]
Exotic has been subject to substantial criticism, especially for the controversies surrounding his feud with Baskin and the treatment of animals at the G.W. Zoo.[8] Exotic has been featured in several documentaries, including the Netflix series Tiger King (2020–2021), a documentary about Exotic's career as a zookeeper and his feud with Baskin. The success of the first season of Tiger King amid the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns led to Exotic receiving attention on social media and inspiring several internet memes. Exotic also appeared in two Louis Theroux documentaries, America's Most Dangerous Pets (2011) and Shooting Joe Exotic (2021). A drama TV show based mainly on the relationship between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic called Joe vs. Carole aired on Peacock on March 3, 2022.
- ^ Kaylee Douglas (April 11, 2023). "'Joe Exotic' says he's running for President as a Democrat". KFOR. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "BOP: Federal Inmates By Name". bop.gov.
- ^ "About Joe Exotic".
- ^ "Meet The Gay Zookeeper Who's Making A Bid For President". HuffPost. October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Brulliard, Karin (January 22, 2020). "Zookeeper who killed tigers and tried to have rival murdered is sentenced to 22 years in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- ^ "'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic gets one year chopped in resentencing". New York Post. Associated Press. January 28, 2022.
- ^ Teh, Cheryl (March 21, 2023). "Joe Exotic is running a long-shot 2024 campaign for president, all while serving 21 years in prison for his role in a murder-for-hire plot". Business Insider. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ Hunt, Rachel (April 6, 2020). "'Tiger King': The Devastating Truth About How the G. W. Zoo Got Its Name From Joe Exotic's Brother". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved July 7, 2021.