Tiger King‘s Joe Exotic is now an international celebrity, with viewers around the world familiar with his eccentric personality, life story and feud with animal rights activist Carole Baskin. Unfortunately for him, he’s at the beginning of a 22-year prison sentence for hiring a hitman and animal cruelty and cannot enjoy any of his newfound fame. Worse, he knows all too well that other people connected to him are enjoying wealth and popularity off his back (Carole now owning his former park also has to sting).
As such, he’s desperate to leave prison and has published a letter asking: “President Trump to keep his word and look into making this wrong a right and grant me a miracle.” He goes on to describe his plight, saying:
“My soul is dead, I struggle every day to hold on to what little hope I can find. They keep me locked down 24/7 with no phone, email or commissary and you will never understand the mental abuse this does to a person. I don’t even know if I’m married anymore. Seems everyone is so busy making money and being famous I don’t even get a letter from Dillon. Everyone sends pictures of him having fun and all but as a person screaming for help I am asking you to stop. Please stop.”
In addition to the psychological damage he says he’s experiencing, he also claims that being imprisoned affects his health. He continued by saying that:
“As most people know, I was born with CVID (not COVID-19) and [hypogammaglobulinemia] and required blood infusions every 4 weeks. I have not had one since end of January. I’m losing weight, sores won’t heal, I’ll be dead in 2-3 months. It’s like I have been sent to death row. They stopped all of my medication except one. This place is hell on earth.”
He goes on to accuse associates of stabbing him in the back, complains that his husband Dillon Passage isn’t writing to him and (somewhat unfortunately) compares himself to George Floyd and asks if he’s the “wrong color.” So, will Trump listen to him? Well, stranger things have happened, but while Trump may be eager to pardon associates like Roger Stone, I doubt he’s going to want to rush to the rescue of a man who tried to have someone murdered.
But hey, who knows what could happen in this topsy-turvy world we live in?