Joe Exotic

Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage (né Schreibvogel; born March 5, 1963), also called Joe Exotic, is an American jailed criminal and former zoo operator. He was born in Garden City, Kansas.

Exotic owned and ran the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. He is known as a tiger breeder. He ran for public office twice: first for President of the United States in 2016 as an independent and then for Governor of Oklahoma in 2018 as a Libertarian.

In 2019, Exotic was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder for hire.  He allegedly hired a man to kill Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin. He was given a 22-year sentence in federal prison.  In July 2021, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that this sentence was long.

In 2020, Netflix released a 7-part documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. It talked about Exotic, his zoo, and his fight with Baskin.

In prison, Exotic was put in quarantine in a security housing unit because he had been in contact with someone who had COVID-19.   He was moved to "a room with a hospital bed and a WINDOW" after his fans wrote many letters to the prison.  As of July 2021, Exotic is in prison in Texas.

Exotic is openly gay.

In May 2021, Exotic said that he had prostate cancer. In August 2021, he said that his cancer might have spread to his pelvis.

In March 2023, Exotic announced his candidacy for President of the United States for the Libertarian nomination in the 2024 election. The following month, he withdrew from the Libertarian primary and instead chose to run for the Democratic Party nomination.

References

Category:1963 births
Category:2016 United States presidential candidates
Category:2024 United States presidential candidates
Category:Living people
Category:American country singers
Category:American LGBT people
Category:American people convicted of attempted murder
Category:American prisoners
Category:Businesspeople from Kansas
Category:Businesspeople from Oklahoma
Category:Gay men
Category:LGBT criminals
Category:LGBT businesspeople
Category:LGBT singers
Category:Professional wrestling announcers
Category:Singers from Kansas
Category:Singers from Oklahoma