Courtesy of Netflix
“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” the new hit documentary series, swept the nation after its release on Netflix. Following zookeeper Joe Maldonado-Passage, better known as Joe Exotic, this series gave a bizarre and somewhat enlightening portrayal of exotic animal captivity. With 64 million views, this documentary series captivated people all over the country.
About three weeks after the series was released, Netflix dropped a new episode of “Tiger King” on Sunday, April 12, entitled “The Tiger King and I.” Hosted by the comedian Joel McHale, some of the show’s most colorful and popular characters were brought back for a brief interview on their thoughts about the show.
The episode started with Erik Cowie, head zookeeper for what used to be Exotic’s zoo. When asked how he’s doing, Cowie said he’s “living clean, loving Jesus,” and is one of the only cast members who hasn’t watched the show yet. He talked about his regrets working with Exotic and how he was forced to kill cats that were perfectly healthy, and firmly believes that Exotic deserves to be in jail. Cowie is happy to now be working for Jeff Lowe.
Jeff Lowe and his wife Lauren were next to be interviewed. Their infamous nanny was brought up, as well as Lowe’s complaints about how he was portrayed in the show. He felt that the show had been “sensationalized a little bit to give it a villain.” Sporting his Harley Davidson jacket, Lowe said, “ This is the notoriety and fame that Joe [Exotic] always wanted, and it’s pretty ironic that now he’s stuck in a cage.”
McHale also spoke to John Reinke, the man with no legs and former manager of G.W. Zoo. Reinke talks about how Exotic really made the zoo all about his own popularity, firing people for the sake of the cameras and even blowing up Reinke’s golf cart and cabin. Although Reinke had his differences with Exotic, he left the zoo the same day as Exotic because he didn’t want to work with Lowe.
The next interviewee was Saff, a former animal keeper for Exotic’s zoo whose arm was ripped off by a tiger. McHale asked about the incident when Saff lost his arm, and he said that he does not regret it at all. When asked about animal captivity, he said, “I never thought they should be kept in captivity, but I knew the reality of it. And the reality of it is they cannot be returned to the wild.” Saff also talked about how for years, Exotic would cook a free Thanksgiving meal for many people. “I’ve seen [Exotic] give the jacket off his back for people and I think that wasn’t highlighted enough,” Saff said.
Josh Dial, Exotic’s campaign manager from the 2016 Libertarian Party primaries, also talked about his crazy experiences with the zookeeper. Dial is one of the only characters that thinks this documentary was fair and well-done. McHale and Dial talk about the death of Exotic’s husband, Travis Maldonado. Maldonado was originally thought to have committed suicide. However, Dial revealed that it was an accident and that Maldonado didn’t think the gun would fire when he shot it. When asked about the difference between Exotic and Carole Baskin, Exotic’s rival, Dial said, “All these animal folks are the same. All they care about is that money.”
With a reinvented look, next to speak was John Finlay, Exotic’s ex-husband. Sporting a shirt and new teeth, he talks about how unhappy he is with his portrayal in the documentary. “I was portrayed as a drugged-out hillbilly,” revealing that at the time, he was four to five years clean. Finlay is happy with his fiancé and four-year-old daughter.
Last to speak was Rick Kirkham, producer of Joe Exotic TV. He reveals that he witnessed Exotic abusing the animals at his zoo and feels that he “sold out his journalistic integrity” by not going to the authorities to report Exotic. Kirkham also said that Exotic was terrified of the animals and didn’t like big cats at all. “I regret ever meeting Joe Exotic,” said Kirkham.
This aftershow was surprisingly revealing and showed that Exotic has few allies left. After watching this episode, viewers will be left with more questions than before. However, it may not be possible to fully understand the other dimension that is Wynnewood, Oklahoma and no one may ever know the truth about Joe Exotic, the Tiger King.
