Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic Claims New Health Issues In Plea For Biden To Issue Him A Pardon

'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic Claims New Health Issues In Plea For Biden To Issue Him A Pardon
Netflix, T.J. Kirkpatrick-Pool/Getty Images
Make us preferred on Google

"Joe Exotic" from the popular Netflix docuseries Tiger King, made a desperate plea for a pardon from President Joe Biden after the Trump Administration failed him.

He was so certain Trump would grant him a pardon his lawyers had a limo waiting and a party planned.


Joe, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, claimed in a lengthy Twitter thread his PSA count results came back high for prostate cancer.

He stated signing the pardon "that Trump left behind" would enable him to get proper care.

The former zoo operator and tiger breeder was sentenced to 22 years in prison after hiring a hitman to murder Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin—a very open critic of his—and for violating federal wildlife laws.

On Friday, Exotic shared his precancer diagnosis from medical records obtained by his lawyer.

"John Phillips has received my medical records from FMC Fort Worth and my PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer."
"The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in. My body is tired, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat."

He continued:

"I don't want anyone's pity, what I need is when John Phillips gets the evidence he is working on, I need the world to help him get President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General to listen to the evidence and see that it's not just city cops out of control with corruption, but his very own Department of Justice and make this right and sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food."


On Saturday, Exotic said he had appointments scheduled to meet with an oncologist and a urologist, in addition to having a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

Taking to Twitter, Exotic claimed his previous request for clemency from Trump was denied because he was "too innocent and too GAY."

He added:

"I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post."
"Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first."

Several people close to Exotic apprised sympathetic fans of the popular Netflix show of Exotic's unfavorable behavior not seen in the series.

Rick Kirkham, who was working on his own documentary featuring Exotic until the footage was mysteriously destroyed in a fire, said the famed zookeeper was "pure evil."

Kirkham told The Daily Beast:

"He enjoyed seeing people and animals hurt. He enjoyed it. He got off on it."

Social media users had plenty to say about Exotic's update from prison.

Some showed compassion...


...while some were less than sympathetic.



Baskin publicly slammed Exotic for the treatment of his animals and won a million-dollar civil judgment against him in 2011.

In response to her winning the civil suit, Baskin received numerous threats from Exotic on various social media platforms starting in 2012.

Five years later, he organized a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin that failed and he subsequently offered to pay someone else $10,000 to kill his outspoken critic.

This time, however, the person he contacted was an undercover FBI agent.

When Baskin discovered Trump rejected Exotic's plea for clemency, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm taking a deep breath because I feel such a sense of relief. From the very time that he was sentenced, I have worried about there being a presidential pardon that could undo all of the hard work that went into bringing this person to justice," she told Fox News.

She added at the time of Biden's inauguration:

"When today at noon a new President was sworn in, I felt like I was finally safe from that threat."

More from News/science

Zohran Mamdani
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

Mamdani Speaks Out After Releasing 9/11 Records That Reveal NYC Officials Knew Air Around Ground Zero Was 'Toxic'

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out after releasing more than 170,000 pages of undisclosed city records to the public ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks that prove city officials knew that the air was "toxic" around Ground Zero during recovery efforts.

Documents reviewed by the New York Times before their release indicate that asbestos concentrations in dust collected throughout the area exceeded hazardous thresholds in the days after the World Trade Center collapsed. Testing also found asbestos and other contaminants in the air and dust at levels considered unsafe.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Was Just Spotted With A Bizarre New Brunette Hair Color—And Here Come The Jokes

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after he was recently spotted departing Air Force One sporting what appeared to be a much darker shade of hair color than the blonde that we're used to seeing.

Trump has for years sported his signature combover, and he has previously spoken about having a significant bald spot on his head. However, he denies wearing a wig.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Fox News

Trump Slammed After Jokingly Lamenting That 9/11 Hero Is 'More Famous' Than He Is In Tone-Deaf Speech

After speaking during the “Steel Across America” event put on by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, President Donald Trump was criticized for lamenting that one hero of the September 11 terror attacks is "more famous" than him.

Trump was referring to Welles Crowther, an equities trader at Sandler O’Neill & Partners who was working in the South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001. Crowther, who became known for wearing a red bandana, helped evacuate people from the building and is credited with saving at least 18 lives before the tower collapsed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Pattinson (left) responds to Chris Hansen’s (right) criticism of Primetime.
Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images; Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic

Robert Pattinson Reacts To 'To Catch A Predator' Star Chris Hansen's Criticism Of His Portrayal In New Film

It’s probably not every day Robert Pattinson gets publicly critiqued by Chris Hansen, but here we are. The actor addressed the former To Catch a Predator host’s concerns about Primetime at the Venice International Film Festival, offering a gracious response to the man whose television career helped inspire the film.

At the panel, Pattinson addressed Hansen’s concerns directly:

Keep ReadingShow less
Amanda Hirsch (left) apologized after facing backlash over a Polymarket post tied to the Lindsay Clancy (right) trial.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIME; Greg Derr / POOL / AFP via Getty Images

Podcaster Apologizes After 'Insensitive' Post About Betting On Lindsay Clancy Trial Sparks Backlash

Amanda Hirsch is walking back a promotional post that encouraged followers to wager on the verdict in the Lindsay Clancy trial. The Not Skinny But Not Fat creator and host found herself in hot water after her partnership with Polymarket drew backlash online.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse from Duxbury, Massachusetts, was charged with killing her three young children in January 2023. Her case has since fueled debate over maternal mental health, the healthcare system, and the legal definition of insanity.

Keep ReadingShow less