Joe Exotic is fuming over not receiving a pardon.
The “Tiger King” star is currently serving a 22-year sentence at a Fort Worth, Texas prison for charges including: murder for hire along with animal abuse chargers.
The 57-year-old zookeeper hoped he’d be one of the recipients of a pardon during former President Donald Trump’s last days in office.
“Tiger King” fans even got in on the action by creating petitions asking for Joe to be pardoned.
Unfortunately, the pardon was denied, and in a statement posted on his Instagram account, the star claimed he was “too innocent and too gay to receive a pardon.”
Baskin Is Relieved
Joe Exotic’s denied pardon has him and the entire “Tiger King” fanbase up in arms.
But one person who is happy with the news is Joe’s nemesis Carole Baskin.
In an interview with TMZ, Baskin said she is thankful he got denied a pardon. The 59-year-old also implied that Joe received another month on his prison sentence for not obeying the rules.
Joe and Carole had a heated feud, which was chronicled on the Netflix documentary.
Carole, an animal rights activist and founder of Big Cat Rescue, accused Joe of animal abuse saying he was breeding his cats, then selling them.
Joe didn’t like Carole’s accusations and began verbally bashing her via his internet channel. Before long the two were engaged in a legal battle with lawsuits and threats being made against each other.
Feud Turns Dangerous
The heated battle between Joe and Carole went on for years until things came to a head.
On September 7, 2018, Joe was arrested for hiring someone to murder Baskin. Aside from murder for hire, Joe also faced 17 charges of animal abuse at his Wynnewood, Oklahoma zoo, including nine violations of the Endangered Species Act.
In January 2019, he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Following Joe’s conviction, Baskin would receive control over Joe’s Oklahoma zoo.
As for Joe, although he’s still in prison, he and his fans haven’t given up hope on him being released one day soon.
No Sympathy For Carole
Baskin has received little sympathy throughout this ordeal.
Although, she does have her loyal fans, who are thankful for the work she does with big cats, others have no love for the Big Cat Rescue founder.
“Tiger King” delved into the story of Carole’s marriage to her second husband Don Lewis, who disappeared in August 1997.
Interviews with those closest to Lewis and Baskin say the couple was on the brink of divorce, and Lewis tried to get a restraining order against Baskin because she threatened to kill him.
Many believe that Baskin may have been involved in Lewis’ disappearance, and Joe Exotic theorized she may have killed Lewis and fed him to the tigers.
Claims Netflix Lied To Her
“Tiger King” has created a lot of attention around Baskin, although a majority of it is negative.
The star has said that Netflix lied to her about the purpose of the documentary. According to Baskin, it was supposed to be like “Blackfish,” except about the rescue of big cats.
She was upset that the show proceeded to paint her in a negative light due to the Joe Exotic feud and the disappearance of her second husband Don Lewis.
Baskin said that since the show, she’s been apprehensive of new people she meets. She doesn’t know if they’re a fan, paparazzi looking for dirt, or worse someone trying to harm her.
