Tiger King's Joe Exotic is seeking a $94 million settlement
Just when we thought Tiger King couldn't possibly get any wilder, the show's star - Joe Exotic - has filed a lawsuit from prison and is seeking a huge $94 million (£78 million).
Joe, who was the owner of a roadside zoo which housed tigers, lions, bears and other animals in Oklahoma, is currently serving a 22 year prison sentence after being found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot targeting animal rights activist and founder of Big Cat Rescue sanctuary Carole Baskin. In addition to the murder-for-hire plot, he was also charged with violating the Endangered Species Act.
From his prison cell in Oklahoma, he's now suing the US Department of Interior and the US Federal Wildlife Service. He essentially accuses the agencies of putting him out of business because they added the "generic tiger" on the endangered species list, according to TMZ.
He argues that he was "discriminated against because he is the only person charged with this statute because [he] is an openly gay male with the largest collection of generic tigers and crossbreeds".
Joe is seeking $78,840,000 in damages to cover his personal property loss and almost two decades of his work with tigers.
According to TMZ, Joe is also seeking a further $15 million from his ex-business partner Jeff Lowe and another former colleague. On top of that, he's also asking for a presidential pardon from US President Donald Trump.
Carole recently spoke out to address the Netflix documentary, calling it "salacious and sensational" and criticised the series for how it portrayed the disappearance of her second husband, Don Lewis.
"The series presents this without any regard for the truth or in most cases even giving me an opportunity before publication to rebut the absurd claims. They did not care about truth. The unsavoury lies are better for getting viewers," she said.
Meanwhile, Tiger King co-director Rebecca Chaiklin recently hinted at a second season. Considering all the above, we think they've got a very good case for making it.
Cosmopolitan UK's May issue is out now and available for purchase online and via Readly. You can also SUBSCRIBE HERE or read on Apple News+. You can find our podcast 'All The Way With...' on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and the Acast app.
You Might Also Like
