Joe Maldonado-Passage, also known to the world as Joe Exotic from Netflix‘s hit documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Madness, and Mayhem, is in the midst of serving a 22-year prison sentence on charges of animal abuse and attempted murder for hire. However, he has become a celebrity during his prison stint, as the Netflix series put his unique zoo keeping styles on display, along with a more unique lifestyle outside of the zoo. Given the popularity of his name, there are radio stations looking to cash in on it and have Joe Exotic headline a show but the Federal Bureau of Prisons is ruling out such an option, for now.
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“Due to safety and security reasons in the wake of the current pandemic, we are deferring coordinating and approving inmate interview requests out of an abundance of caution,” a prisons spokesman told THR. This comes after Joe Exotic’s husband claimed earlier this week that there are radio stations looking to coordinate a show with Joe. The prisons do not seem to be ruling out such a possibility permanently, so it will be interesting to see their stance when the global pandemic is resolved, and whether or not Joe Exotic’s celebrity star is still shining brightly enough for a station to be interested in him.
In the mean time, Netflix added an additional episode of Tiger King: Murder, Madness, and Mayhem to their series after it burst with popularity. There is also a comic series on the way from TidalWave. “We wanted to do something that is fun and a good distraction in regard to in the state of the world now. I am obsessed with everything in this story and wanted to tell it from a different medium. The comic book medium can be used to entertain as well as inform,” said TidalWave publisher Darren G. Davis. The synopsis of the comic series claims that “During the Age of COVID-19, the world needs a distraction.”
Joe Exotic has become such a household name that the President of the United States was asked if he would pardon the former zoo keeper during a press conference addressing the global pandemic. The President was unaware of the Netflix series but said he would, “Look into it.”
What are your thoughts on Joe Exotic? Would you listen to his radio show from jail? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter.
