Every so often, a television series comes along that totally captivates a large portion of the American viewing public. It’s hard to say exactly what it is that has given it such a powerful charge, but Tiger King, streaming now on Netflix, has become just such a series.
With its larger-than-life characters and truly bizarre happenings, the series hits all the right spots of a guilty pleasure. It’s also full of great quotes. Here are ten of the best quotes from Tiger King.
Updated June 27th, 2020 by Meg Pelliccio: With the recent news that Carole Baskins has finally gotten her hands on Joe Exotic's former zoo, many fans are giving the docu-series another viewing to remind themselves of the eccentrically weird and wonderful show that it was. The antics of Joe Exotic and his tiger zoo were the hot topics of conversation not long ago, with the Netflix show being the latest in a string of trending Netflix programs that seem to take viewers by storm.
The show was pure entertainment and anyone who has watched it has walked away with a few hilarious memories of moments from the series, as well as remembering some classic quotes from the many weird and wild characters that appeared. Check out some of the following quotes for prime examples of this show's uniqueness.
"I can almost promise you some of you will be urinated on. If that happens, we have T-shirts in the gift shop that says, ‘I got peed on by a tiger.'"
Joe Exotic is certainly entertaining, both in the docu-series and undoubtedly in real life when he was presenting his various tiger shows at his zoo. Viewers can't help but chuckle and be appalled by his odd character and complete lack of professionalism.
One of the most amusing things that Joe Exotic says to his audience during a tiger show is the above quote, and while you might think he was joking, he really wasn't. The zoo really did sell t-shirts with those slogans, but I'm not sure you'd want to admit being peed on by a tiger.
"Your whole audience will say, 'Oh my god, that guy has a mullet!'"
One of the biggest understatements to come out of Joe Exotic's mouth has to be this rather hilarious quote where he is discussing the documentary being made. Of the many, many conversational topics that viewers discussed about Tiger King, his mullet really didn't rate high on the list as there were far juicier things to talk about.
For example, just a few of the things that the docu-series shows are tiger maulings, animal abuse, death, various criminal activities, scams, crazy shenanigans, and a whole lot more.
"We take Lauren in next Tuesday to be induced to give birth to Sarah Evelyn Lowe and then we get Lauren back in the gym."
Jeff Lowe is not a nice guy, he makes this abundantly clear throughout the series, but if you were unsure of his character then this misogynistic quote from him should sum him up quite nicely. Jeff actually expected his wife Lauren to hit the gym immediately after having his baby, in order to get back in shape just so that she'd look good to please him.
This is just one of many awful things that Jeff says and does throughout Tiger King, but then again, there aren't exactly many likable people that feature in the docu-series.
"You can see how they go from being so sweet to tearing your face off, just like that, and it’s amazing to have that range."
This quote from Carole Baskins seems almost hilarious at first, but throughout the show, there are multiple times where viewers really witness the animals going from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds. Not only is Joe close to being attacked quite a few times, with him even claiming someone put perfume on his shoes to goad the tigers into attacking him, but additionally there is a part where one of the zoo's employees has his arm mauled by a tiger.
Regardless, there are sure to be many people who would argue that it is not "amazing" to see this range, as who really wants to see a tiger in "tear your face off" mode? No one.
“I went to work every day prepared to die in a tiger cage. Dying doesn’t scare me. At all.”
Say what you will about Joe Exotic, but the man doesn’t lack in courage. Indeed, it does seem to take a particularly strong constitution to put yourself in harm’s way each and every day by stepping into cages full of big cats that are perfectly-designed predators.
Indeed, Joe is almost attacked by several of the beasts which, of course, leads to one of his signature outbursts. He may not be afraid to die, but he clearly doesn’t welcome death either.
“I really appreciate the fact that none of these people like me.”
Carole Baskin may be hated by most of the men who own the exotic animal parks depicted in the series, but that doesn’t mean that she’s willing to take all of their abuse lying down. Indeed, as this quote makes clear, she rather revels in the fact that they don’t like her.
To her, the fact that these people look at her as almost the embodiment of evil is a sign that she must be doing something right.
“I’d shoot you before I shot my cat.”
There’s more than a bit of irony to this quote. While it is certainly debatable whether Joe really loved his big cats or whether they were yet another way of feeding his massive ego, the fact remains that he was, indeed, willing to shoot them.
It is revealed in the later episodes of the show that he was personally responsible for shooting five of his own, supposedly beloved tigers. It’s a horrific reminder of how brutal Joe could be.
“Hey all you cool cats and kittens!”
This phrase has become something of Carole’s catch-phrase, the way that she greets her legions of online fans. There’s something both charming and disarming about it, the way that it draws you in with its folksy charm.
It’s also deeply indicative not just of Baskin’s clear command of her public persona but also the way that her clear love of cats has become a clear part of her identity and how she presents herself to the world.
"I’m sure y’all got a story to tell."
In a series full of hyperbolic personalities, John Reinke is something of an anomaly. He is more soft-spoken and reasonable than almost anyone else that appears in front of the camera, and as this quote reveals he also sees past the nonsense that so often obscures storytelling.
In his words, he makes it clear that he knows that the filmmakers have a story, one that they can sculpt from the raw material provided by Joe and company.
“I’m outspoken, good looking, love to party and have fun.”
This quote encapsulates the image of himself that Joe attempted to portray to the world. As each episode of the series unfolds, however, we see that there is a lot more going on underneath this quote than at first meets the eye.
While it’s questionable whether he’s good-looking—that depends on your view about mullets—it’s true that his love of partying and fun are, in fact, a part of his narcissism and unquenchable desire to be adored.
“I’m never going to financially recover from this.”
This is, in many ways, one of the most horrifying quotes in a series full of them. In large part, this stems from the fact that they are some of the first words that he utters after a member of his staff has his arm mauled by a tiger.
Rather than expressing sadness about what has happened, Joe’s primary concern is the financial consequences for his park. It’s yet another indication that, beneath the charisma, there is a significantly darker side of Joe’s personality.
“I live, eat, and breathe ending the captivity of wild cats.”
If Joe is the unlikely folk hero of Tiger King, then Carole is the villain. This a bit of a shame because, as this quote reveals, Carole does at least make the pretense of wanting to abolish the private ownership of big cats.
One can argue whether or not she is something of a hypocrite—she does have her own park where cats are kept in rather cramped quarters—but at the least she does make it clear that owning big cats for entertaining is both dangerous and unethical.
"He was like a mythical character living out in the middle of bumf@ck Oklahoma who owned 1200 tigers and lions and bears and sh!t"
Though more subdued than some of the other characters, Rick Kirkham, the television producer, is strange in his own way. Here, he reveals that there is something truly extraordinary about Joe Exotic, a man who somehow manages to become something more than just a loon who owns too many big cats and took a hit out on a woman that perceived to be his enemy.
It is, truly, something out of myth, beautiful, tragic, and terrifying.
“We're going to have to change the laws if we're going to solve this problem.”
In addition to being a savvy businesswoman, Carole is also adept at navigating the halls of politics. As the documentary, and this quote, make clear, she knows that it’s not enough to get the public on her side about the ownership of big cats.
It is also necessary to change the laws so that it is more difficult to own big cats, to put them through the tortures of captivity, and to exploit them for human entertainment.
"I'm In A Cage. You Know Why Animals Die In Cages? Their Soul Dies."
In a rather fitting ending, Joe Exotic ended up behind bars himself by the end of the docu-series for animal cruelty and attempted murder-for-hire to kill Carole Baskin, as well as numerous other offenses. This quote of his is quite apt; it's just a shame that Joe didn't realize the harm that caging tigers when he was making a profit off of them.
Joe is currently serving a 22-year sentence and his zoo now belongs to his former rival, Carole Baskin. Can things get much worse for Joe?