One of the defining pieces of pop culture in 2020 was Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, which turned stars Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin into household names. Despite how Joe Exotic’s outlandish personality made him an endearing figure to some audiences, many people who share their support of the personality have seemingly forgotten that he paid someone to murder Baskin, a fact which she was happy to remind viewers about during a recent New Year’s Eve interview, resulting in an immensely uncomfortable exchange with comedians Ken Jeong and Joe McHale, as they clearly weren’t expecting a macabre reaction to their question.
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The interaction occurred when Jeong asked Baskin what her life has been like since becoming such a breakout celebrity following the series’ release.
I just LOST it watching this interaction between @kenjeong, @joelmchale, and Carole Baskin. 😂💀 #NYEonFOX pic.twitter.com/7tRI6N57bj
— David Wysong (@DavidWysong_) January 1, 2021
“It’s so weird because of the combined fear of them being hitmen and not knowing them from the paparazzi, every time people are running up to me, I don’t know if they’re running up to kill me or running up to take a selfie,” Baskin confessed during FOX’s New Year’s Eve event.
“Wow, that’s not a dark answer at all, we were trying to even avoid that, we’ll just avoid the whole hitman motif,” Jeong reacted to Baskin’s admission.
The debut of Tiger King on Netflix resulted in a number of its real-life character becoming celebrities, though none as much as Exotic or Baskin. In the months since they started earning the attention, Baskin has been able to capitalize on her newfound fame, recording personalized messages on Cameo and becoming a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Exotic, on the other hand, is currently incarcerated on charges not only related to paying someone to kill Baskin, but also for animal abuse. This means that, while he has earned fame following Tiger King‘s debut, he hasn’t been able to cash-in on that success.
Exotic is currently serving out his 22-year sentence, though is holding out hope that he could earn a presidential pardon before Donald Trump leaves office. Exotic’s legal team is reportedly heading to Washington, D.C. next week in hopes of securing some high-level meetings to expedite the process.
Stay tuned for details on future Tiger King exploits.
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