Joseph Maldonado, otherwise known as Joe Exotic, is once again calling on Donald Trump to release him from prison.
The former big cat collector and star of the COVID-19 pandemic-era smash hit docuseries “Tiger King” has been incarcerated since 2019 for attempting to hire hitmen to kill his longtime rival in the wildlife rescue space, Carole Baskin. He was also found guilty of killing tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying records.
He was sentenced to 22 years in prison for the crimes, which was later reduced to 21 years upon appeal.
Throughout his incarceration, Maldonado, 61, has claimed his innocence and said both the documentary and the charges against him were fabricated in an attempt to take him down and pass strict federal laws regarding the private ownership of exotic animals, including big cats.
On Wednesday, Maldonado released a letter addressed to Donald Trump Jr., in hopes that the President-elect’s son could convince his father to issue a presidential pardon and release him from prison.
“You have been an advocate of mine for a pardon since this nightmare started in 2020 when a small group of criminals got together with a corrupt tv producer that had only one agenda … to support the animal rights groups and produce a hit piece called ‘Tiger King,’” Maldonado writes in the letter, which has been shared on his website.
The reality television star and famed lip-syncer called the Netflix series a “hit piece” that he says was produced to intentionally make him and other exotic animal owners “look batsh– crazy.”
He also provided links to two video affidavits that he says prove he was the victim of a setup, imploring Trump Jr. to share them with his father in support of his quest to be released.
“Please take 10 minutes out of your busy life to watch their video confessions and then take 5 minutes to speak to your father President Trump,” he writes.
Joe Exotic famously lobbied an outgoing Trump for a pardon during the final days of his presidency, even going so far as to have a limousine waiting for him upon his release. That pardon never came.
He then shifted focus to urging President Joe Biden to grant his release, and has since attempted to avoid his prison sentence the old-fashioned way—by running for president himself.
Trump, who is set to take office on Jan. 21, becoming only the second American president to secure nonconsecutive terms in office, has not indicated any immediate plans to grant Maldonado’s release.
“I have lost 7 years of my life, my parents and my life’s work,” Maldonado wrote. “It is time to allow me to go home on January 21, 2025.”
Exotic has also offered to lend his services to the president upon his release, asking to be appointed the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Joseph Maldonado, otherwise known as Joe Exotic, is once again calling on Donald Trump to release him from prison. The former big cat collector and star of the COVID-19 pandemic-era smash hit docuseries “Tiger King” has been incarcerated since 2019 for attempting to hire hitmen to kill his longtime rival in the wildlife rescue space, […]
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