5 Things You Might Not Know About the Wacky, Dangerous, and Utterly Surreal Cast of Netflix’s Viral Hit Tiger King

KJ EdelmanMar 30th, 2020, 2:50 pm
 

Who would’ve thought a documentary about tigers would be one of the most talked about topics right now?

Maybe it’s because of social distancing and quarantines amid the coronavirus outbreak have given people lots of free time. Or maybe it’s because the new Netflix limited series has everything: polygamy, cults, attempted murder, a presidential campaign, and so much more.

The documentary follows three private tiger owners — with much of the action centering around Joe Exotic, the self-dubbed Tiger King from Oklahoma. His arch-rival, Carole Baskin, from Tampa, FL, may have the better reputation of the three, but conspiracy follows her closely. And in the distance, South Carolina’s Bhagavan “Doc” Antle runs an institution that some have suggested seems like a cult.

It’s wildly entertaining and hard to keep your eyes off. Here’s five things you may have missed about the surreal cast of Netflix’s hottest show.

1. Joe and Carole Were Not Supposed to Be the Focus of the Documentary

In the opening minutes of the first episode, director Eric Goode explained that he wanted to follow the private tiger industry after he saw a snow leopard was being held in a hot Florida van. The conservationist wanted to expose the problems with the industry around tiger breeding, something like Blackfish, a 2013 documentary about Sea World.

Baskin claims that’s why she agreed to talk for the project — “in good faith” she said recently on Big Cat Rescue’s website. While the documentary does show inhumane treatment of animals, mostly by Exotic, the story focused on the bitter rivalry between Baskin and Exotic.

“I went into this to explore a different side of the animal world in terms of wild animals in captivity. After spending years with these subjects the project moved in a different direction,” Goode told Vanity Fair on Mar. 20. “Netflix is very adept at making binge-worthy television and with these larger-than-life subjects that was pretty easy to do. However, my goal is and has always been the same, which is to raise awareness and help save the species.”

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Goode also wished he confronted them more about their treatment of tigers.

2. Joe Exotic’s Instagram is Electric. And It’s Still Public. 

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Joe Exotic really documented almost all of his life. His YouTube channel still has all of his ridiculous rants and promotion videos, some that still only have a couple hundred of views.

What may be more interesting is his public Instagram page @Joe_Exotic, which hasn’t posted late 2018. On there, he posted private messages with Jeff Lowe threatening his husband, details of governor and presidential campaigns, and lots of selfies, among others.

His account, which only had a little over 1,000 followers before the documentary aired, now has 138,000 and counting. His most liked post is his last, a one year Facebook reminder of the death of his second husband, Travis.

 

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Rip Travis

A post shared by Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) on

3. One Florida Sheriff Is Still Asking About Carole’s Husband’s Death

Everyone wants to know about the mysterious disappearance of Baskin’s first husband, Don Lewis. Even Kim Kardashian West asked Twitter what they thought [She later said Baskin invited her to Big Cat Rescue].

As said in the documentary, Lewis was later ruled dead because he was never found. But Chad Chronister, a Hillsborough County Sheriff, went to Twitter to ask for tips about Baskin’s late husband.

“Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads,” he said. 

In his graphic, Chronister calls the disappearance a “cold case.”

4. Dillon Passage Is Actually A Bernie Sanders Supporter

Joe Exotic is a gun-loving libertarian who some in the documentary said he didn’t know a lot about politics. But in YouTube videos and on Instagram, he’s shown his support for President Donald Trump, even going as far as asking for a pardon from him this week.

But did you know his third husband is actually a Bernie Sanders supporter?

Dillon Passage, who married Exotic in 2017, posted a picture on Instagram from 2016 with a sign saying “Rave 4 Bernie.” He also topped off the post with #Feelthebern.

5. Carole Baskin Is Not Happy About Her Portrayal

Howard and Carole Baskin released a video on Saturday expressing their disappointment in the Tiger King documentary. Carole was specifically most frustrated about the episode focused around her first husband, where people discuss conspiracies related to his disappearance.

A 3,000 word blog post entitled “Refuting Tiger King” voices her frustrations.

“There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the series not only does not do any of that, but has had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers,” the Big Cat Rescue post said. “As part of that, it has a segment devoted to suggesting, with lies and innuendos from people who are not credible, that I had a role in the disappearance of my husband Don in 1997.”

Baskin’s social media has been flooded with viewers asking similar questions as Kim Kardashian. Baskin still posts daily updates on YouTube, but she’s since deleted her public Facebook account as early as Monday night.

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