Tiger King star Joe Exotic claims he was “too gay” for Trump pardon
Exotic, who paid to have his rival Carole Baskin murdered, now hopes that President Joe Biden will pardon him instead
Joe Exotic has condemned former President Donald Trump for failing to issue a pardon for the imprisoned zoo owner.
Donald Trump Jr last year suggested that his father could pardon Exotic, saying it “would be pretty amazing to ultimately see that.” However, no such pardon eventually materialized.
In emails obtained by TMZ, Exotic claims he was “too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump.”
Exotic gained both fame and notoriety after appearing in hit Netflix docu-series Tiger King, which focused on the “gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet” and his feud with big cat rights activist Carole Baskin.
He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for a multitude of charges, including paying to have Baskin murdered. In addition to two counts of murder for hire, the Oklahoma-based exotic animal breeder was charged with eight counts of illegally trading animals and nine violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Exotic received further media attention after filing a $94 million lawsuit in March, claiming federal agencies targeted him solely “because [he] is an openly gay male with the largest collection of generic tigers and crossbreeds.”
In the emails obtained by TMZ, the once proud Trump supporter says he has switched up his affiliations, and is now hoping President Joe Biden will instead come through with a pardon.
Exotic claims he has a renewed sense of confidence in the Biden administration after watching Vice President Kamala Harris on television, which led him to assert that she will “help clean up the corruption in the DOJ and other agencies.”
While Exotic had once considered Trump a role model, in light of the ex-president’s actions on Jan. 6, when he incited a mob of his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol, Exotic now has nothing but disdain for Trump.
“I only mattered to Don Jr when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post,” Exotic said. “Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first.”
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‘Tiger King’ review: A human menagerie of cons, crooks, and animal exploiters
Tiger King’s Joe Exotic files $94 million lawsuit claiming he was targeted for being gay
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