Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is the strangest thing you'll see this year, a riveting docuseries that will have your jaw dropping at every episode.
There are seven episodes, each one of which follows the story of Joe Exotic, the flamboyant Oklahoman owner of a big cats zoo who was charged with a murder-for-hire plot against his biggest rival in the business, Carole Baskin.
There are so many shocking elements within the series that you will start to feel like it can't possibly be real. It includes polygamy, cults, accusations of animal abuse, political campaigns, gangsters, con men, murder – the list goes on. Here are some of the most shocking revelations.
Rick Kirkham Checked Himself Into a Psychiatric Facility
After spending months at Joe Exotic's zoo, TV producer Rick Kirkham says the experience was so disturbing that he suffered a nervous breakdown and checked himself into an in-patient psychiatric facility for a week. Kirkham had a falling out with Joe and the TV studio mysteriously burned down, the result of arson.
Kirkham wanted to make a reality TV show about Joe and sell it to a network, and was sure it would be a hit. But all of the footage burned in the fire. He has called Joe a cruel and evil human being.
Joe Made Videos Bashing Carole Baskin
Joe made it very clear that he wanted Carole dead, mentioning it many times in his web TV series. But he actually went further than that. He made videos in which he shot a dummy doll in the head after referring to it as Carole, and even one where he showed a jar saying he wanted to put her head in it.
One of Joe's many music videos featured a look-a-like of Carole pretending to feed body parts, presumed to be of her missing husband, to the tigers. Called "Here Kitty Kitty," he sang lyrics to the tune of "no bones, no remains, but that won't change the fact that Don sure ain't coming back."
Doc Antle Is Accused of Running a Cult
There's no denying that Doc Antle is a strange character. Another big cat zoo owner, he calls himself "Bhagavan, which means 'holy" or "divine." Look at his park and you'll notice all of the women there are young and attractive.
One former employee interviewed for the series accuses him of being a polygamist running a cult, taking on several wives and providing them with better jobs and care if they slept with them. Doc denies this, saying cute girls are simply drawn to the conservation movement, and while girls were hitting on him back in his heyday, it was simply because he was the rich tiger guy.
Joe Was Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison
As the docuseries notes at the end, Joe Exotic (real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage) was sentenced to 22 years in prison. But most of the sentence was for criminal activities beyond the initial charge of murder-for-hire. He was also charged with several wildlife violations, including falsifying paperwork related to the buying and selling of exotic animals, and shooting and killing five tigers.
Joe maintains his innocence and other players also believe that while he isn't completely innocent, he was also set up to fall.
Joe's Husbands Were Not Gay
Joe was openly gay and at one point had two husbands at the same time. He met both when they were 19 and Joe was already in his 50s. Both were seemingly not actually gay, however. John Finlay says he is not gay and even carried on a relationship with a female employee at the zoo, who he ended up getting pregnant.
While married to Finlay, Joe met and married Travis Maldonado, who also initially declared he wasn't gay. Addicted to meth, he was reportedly lured by the promise of drugs, room, and board, and being able to, of course, play with the tigers. Joe's current husband is Dillion Passage, though it's unclear if he is actually gay or also just pretending. But Joe admitted he knew John and Travis weren't gay and said it was tough to find other gay men in Oklahoma.
Joe's Husband Accidentally Committed Suicide
Joe's husband Travis shockingly committed suicide. While complaining to an employee about his situation, saying Joe didn't listen to him and didn't let him leave the park to visit family or go other places, he put his gun to his head and pulled the trigger, believing that without a magazine, it wouldn't fire. It did.
Security cameras caught part of the incident. While Travis was off-camera, the man he was speaking to was in clear view and you see the shock in his face as he sits stunned for a few seconds, hands to his face before rushing out to call 9-1-1.
Joe Accused Doc Antle of Euthanizing Tigers
While Joe seemed to idolize Doc Antle, even referring to him as a mentor, once in prison, he decided to turn on everyone. He accused Doc of euthanizing old tigers in gas chambers then burning them once they were no longer profitable in order to make room for new cubs.
Doc denied these claims and no proof was ever found. Although his property was raided in December 2019 and he has been investigated numerous times, nothing incriminating has been discovered. He still operates his zoo today.
Carole Was Accused of Killing Her Husband
As if the saga couldn't get any weirder, Carole was accused of killing her millionaire husband. After he reportedly wanted a divorce and had been stepping out, including having a girlfriend in Costa Rica, he mysteriously went missing.
Some believe that Carole killed him and fed his body to the tigers so there was no evidence. She claims he was suffering from memory loss and possible dementia and may have simply taken off somewhere. He was declared legally dead five years and one day after he disappeared, and Carole inherited most of his money and the zoo. Her husband Don had actually left his former wife to be with Carole, who was married at the time as well. He had two daughters from his first marriage.
Joe Ran for President
Joe had such a big ego that he didn't just deem himself the Tiger King and make it his life's mission to take down his biggest rival, he also thought he could run for president of the United States. He began a campaign, then decided to run for Governor instead.
It's unclear if he was just doing this for publicity or really wanted the job. Nonetheless, he ended up getting in big trouble with Jeff Lowe, who now owned the zoo, when Jeff discovered Joe was using money from the zoo to fund his campaigns.
There Might Be a Season 2
As if you think things can't get even crazier, there might actually be a second season of this latest guilty pleasure docuseries. Reportedly more filming was done, including of Joe's sentencing, so there is a lot of footage that hasn't yet been used.
Producer Rebecca Chaiklin told Entertainment Weekly that there is a possibility for a second season to follow-up on the events. "It's a story that's still unfolding," she said. Joe was convicted in 2019 and Jeff is still working on moving the zoo to a new location.