Joe Exotic

Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage is more famously known as Joe Exotic. He formerly owned the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. However, he was convicted for animal abuse and murder for hire of Carole Baskin in 2019. Joe Exotic has recently made headlines after the release of the new Netflix documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. 

Born in Kansas, Celebrity Speaker Joe spent a good part of his childhood working on a farm. As he got older, he and his brother opened up a pet store in Texas. However, after his brother tragically passed away in 1997, Joe bought a farm in Oklahoma and dedicated it to his brother. After starting off with a few pets, Exotic was able to grow his zoo to be best known for housing and showing off big cats. He even had his own reality television show and travelled around the country to do shows. However, the Animal Park was cited a handful of times for violating the Animal Welfare Act standards. 

Aside from operating the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, Joe Exotic used to be an aspiring country singer. Unfortunately, his career never took off. After his country music career didn’t work out, Joe got involved in politics. In 2016, he ran for President of the United States as an independent candidate. He then ran for Governor of Oklahoma in 2018 but saw no success there either. In addition to the new docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, Joe Exotic also appeared in America’s Most Dangerous Pets. He is currently serving a sentence in prison and is seeking a Presidential Pardon from President Trump.