One of the major players in the wild tale of Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is James Garretson, a businessman who had known and worked with Joe Exotic for 20 years, and later became an FBI informant to help secure his conviction. Under pressure and at risk of facing the wrong end of the law himself, Garretson agreed to record his conversations with Exotic and his business partner, Jeff Lowe, and even introduced Exotic to an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman.
Tiger King opens with the reveal that Joe Exotic, owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, was jailed for attempting to have a woman murdered. The rest of the series shows the story leading up to that moment, as tensions grow between Exotic and Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskin, who is trying to have his cub breeding and petting business shut down. Along the way we're introduced to many different shady characters, including a man who may or may not have been the inspiration for the movie Scarface. James Garretson is one of the shady characters in question: a businessman whose ventures include everything from strip clubs to exotic animals to water sports.
Speaking in a recent interview with Australia's Hit radio network, Garretson said that he now lives in South Florida and runs a jet ski operation. "That's pretty much what I do, seven days a week," he explained, while later noting that his business has been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also revealed that he and the other people featured in Tiger King were paid for their participation, estimating his own take from the documentary at around a few thousand dollars. In the wake of Tiger King's release the show has come at a personal cost for Garretson, who says he has received death threats and hate mail for his role in Joe Exotic's arrest and conviction.
Tiger King fans aren't the only ones that Garretson is getting grief from, as he is also currently being sued by Joe Exotic himself. The former zoo owner, who is serving a 22-year sentence for murder-for-hire and wildlife charges, has filed a $94 million lawsuit against Garretson, Lowe and various other individuals as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife Services. The lawsuit accuses the defendants of, among other charges, perjury, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and causing mental anguish. "He's claiming it's some kind of conspiracy or whatever," Garretson said. "I have not seen the lawsuit, I've just been told about it."
Finally, animal lovers who watched Tiger King may be wondering what happened to Garretson's pet lemur, one of the many exotic animals he collected, which can be seen during his interviews. Garretson says that he still owns the lemur and "he's doing good."