Joe Exotic, star of the Netflix hit series “Tiger King,” wants Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow to help him raise money so he can hire lawyers to get out of prison. Why Burrow, you might be asking? It’s just a request from one “Tiger King” to another. Sort of.
Who Is The Real Tiger King?
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, wrote a letter to Burrow that he posted on social media where he mentions Burrow referring to himself as the “Tiger King,” and that Exotic has been the “Tiger King” since before Burrow left high school.
The Netflix star also says that “Tiger King” is his “trademark” and “intellectual property,” and since everyone is enjoying the “fame” of being the “Tiger King” while he sits in a federal prison; Burrow should do a “good deed” and help him raise “20,000 for a downpayment to hire attorneys.”
“I see the news, magazines as well as yourself calling you the Tiger King,” Exotic wrote. “Everyone in the world is exploiting me and my trademarks while I sit innocent in an American Federal Prison. I have been the Tiger King before you got out of high school. Tiger King is my trademark and intellectual property. My life has been destroyed … while you all ride fame and attention off my life’s work.”
Joe Exotic Is Serving A 22-Year Prison Sentence
Exotic is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted on two counts of hiring someone to murder Carol Baskin in Florida, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act by killing five tigers and selling tigers across state lines.
Baskin is an American animal rights activist and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, and was part of the “Tiger King” documentary series.
Burrow, before being the star QB of the Bengals (a Bengal is a common type of tiger), was the national championship-winning QB for the LSU Tigers in college. People have often referred to him as the “Tiger King.”
Burrow has stated that he doesn’t like the nickname because of the animal abuse depicted and he doesn’t want to be associated with that.
“See, I don’t like that one that much. I don’t like that show, I have not seen the show, because I don’t like seeing animals in cages, I don’t really like that,” Burrow said during an interview with Lordstown Motors in 2022. “I didn’t see the show, so I don’t like that nickname.”
It’s highly unlikely that Burrow responds to Exotic, so the imprisoned “Tiger King” is going to have to find another way to raise money for attorneys.
