Tiger King

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Joe Exotic Wants Your Prayers
Tiger King Star Hears
His New Jail Sentence
UPDATED
Jan 29, 2022 5:30 AM CST

Tiger King Star Hears His New Jail Sentence

'Joe Exotic,' aka Joseph Maldonado-Passage, gets 21 years instead of 22 in resentencing

(Newser) - Update: Joseph Maldonado-Passage will be serving a little less time behind bars than expected. On Friday, an Oklahoma City federal judge resentenced the Tiger King star, also known as "Joe Exotic," to 21 years in prison—one year less than the original sentence in his murder-for-hire case, reports...

Carole Baskin Sues Netflix
Carole Baskin Sues Netflix
Nov 2, 2021 3:29 AM CDT

Carole Baskin Sues Netflix

Wants footage of her pulled from 'Tiger King 2'

(Newser) - Tiger King 2 is coming on Nov. 17, and Carole Baskin isn't happy about her inclusion in it. The Big Cat Rescue founder is suing Netflix for using footage of her in the documentary miniseries sequel, since Baskin says she only signed release forms to appear in the first...

Tiger King Zookeeper Found Dead in NYC

Erik Cowie was 53

(Newser) - A zookeeper who appeared in Tiger King—and later testified against Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka Joe Exotic—was found dead in a New York City apartment Friday, officials say. Sources tell TMZ that 53-year-old Erik Cowie was found unresponsive in the residence's bedroom and while no drugs were found at...

Dozens of Underfed Big Cats Rescued From Tiger King Park

Feds say 68 animals were seized from Jeff and Lauren Lowe's park

(Newser) - Some 68 underfed and neglected big cats from a park owned by Joe Exotic's former business partner will go to "responsible animal preserves where they can be safely maintained rather than exploited," the Justice Department says. The animals—seven lions, 46 tigers, 15 lion-tiger hybrids, and one...

Joe Exotic: Send My Pardon Request to Trump

'Tiger King' stars after Justice Department requests his application

(Newser) - Joe Exotic really wants out of prison. The Tiger King star applied to the US Justice Department for a pardon in September, but the department quickly rejected it. Now the man convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill a rival has sued over that rejection, reports...

Family of Missing Husband Makes a Point With TV Ad

Don Lewis relatives buy commercial during Carole Baskin's premiere on 'Dancing With the Stars'

(Newser) - Carole Baskin premiered on Dancing With the Stars Monday night—and one of the commercials that aired during the episode was purchased by the family of her former husband, millionaire Don Lewis, who went missing in 1997. Baskin, who gained infamy due to her role on Netflix's Tiger King...

There's Apparently a Tiger on the Loose in Tennessee

Authorities in Knoxville are chasing down sightings

(Newser) - A strange one out of Tennessee: Wildlife authorities in Knoxville are on the hunt for a tiger—yes, a tiger—after multiple sightings, reports WVLT . The first one came from a sheriff's deputy on Wednesday night near an industrial park, and multiple residents have since called in their own....

Joe Exotic Claims He Was Sexually Assaulted by Jail Staff

He asks for pardon in 257-page letter to Trump

(Newser) - Joseph Maldonado-Passage, federal inmate No. 26154-017 and better known as Joe Exotic, is seeking a pardon—and has written to both Donald Trumps. The former zoo owner, who is serving a 22-year murder-for-hire sentence, has sent President Trump a 257-page letter outlining his case for a pardon, TMZ reports. Exotic...

We're About to See a Whole Lot More of This Tiger King Star

Carole Baskin to appear on ABC's 'Dancing With the Stars,' along with Nelly, Anne Heche

(Newser) - Will she perform a rockabilly-inspired number to the "Stray Cat Strut"? Or perhaps a more contemporary interpretative dance to "Eye of the Tiger"? All eyes will be on Carole Baskin and her song choices starting Sept. 14, when the new season of Dancing With the Stars...

Current Owner of Tiger King Zoo Gets More Bad News

Jeff Lowe just saw his animal exhibitor license suspended by the USDA

(Newser) - In June, a judge gave control of the Oklahoma zoo once run by "Joe Exotic" of Tiger King fame (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage), and now owned by Jeff Lowe, to the two men's nemesis, Carole Baskin. Now, more bad news for Lowe: The Department of Agriculture this week...

Massive Reward Offered in Case of Carole Baskin's Missing Husband

$100K up for grabs for information leading to Don Lewis

(Newser) - Thanks to Tiger King, a two-decade-old cold case has come under renewed scrutiny—and now a massive reward is being offered for information leading to long overdue answers in that case. Viewers of the Netflix documentary know that Jack "Don" Lewis, then-husband of "Tiger King" Joe Exotic's...

Joe Exotic Writes Dire Letter to Fans

'I'll be dead in 2-3 months'

(Newser) - Joe Exotic wants out of prison, fast. In a letter to fans and supporters obtained by TMZ , the Tiger King star makes a dire prediction: "I'll be dead in 2-3 months." Exotic, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, says his health troubles are mounting behind bars, and the...

Sheriff: The Will of Carole Baskin's Missing Husband Was Forged

Crime is past the statute of limitations but adds 'another shadow of suspicion'

(Newser) - Someone forged the will of the missing husband of Carole Baskin, a woman prominently featured in Netflix's Tiger King documentary series, a Florida sheriff said. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told 10 Tampa Bay on Tuesday that two experts had confirmed the will of Jack "Don" Lewis is...

There's a New Twist in the Tiger King Saga

Judge gives control of the Okla. zoo once owned by 'Joe Exotic' to his foe Carole Baskin

(Newser) - Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage's worst nightmare—other than landing in prison, which is where he already is—just came true. Per the Hollywood Reporter , Carole Baskin, depicted as the archenemy of "Joe Exotic" in Netflix's Tiger King, has been awarded his former zoo in Wynnewood, Okla., after a...

Carole Baskin Gets In on the Mask Game

'Tiger King' star selling masks

(Newser) - "Hey all you cool cats and kittens." It's not just the signature line of Tiger King's Carole Baskin: They're also the words that appear on the masks being sold by the Big Cat Rescue founder. CNN reports Baskin has teamed up with tread365.com to...

Nicolas Cage Takes His First TV Role Since 1981

He'll play Joe Exotic

(Newser) - Almost 40 years after appearing in unsuccessful ABC pilot Best of Times under the name Nicolas Coppola, Nicolas Cage is returning to the small screen. Cage will play zoo owner Joe Exotic in an eight-part series based on the same Texas Monthly article as Netflix docuseries Tiger King, the AV...

Pranksters Trick Carole Baskin Into Giving an Interview
Carole Baskin
Tricked Into
Giving Interview
video
May 4, 2020 4:20 AM CDT

Carole Baskin Tricked Into Giving Interview

She hasn't been talking much since 'Tiger King'

(Newser) - Carole Baskin spoke to a newspaper after the release of Tiger King made her a household name, but she hadn't done a video interview—until a couple of YouTube pranksters tricked her into giving one. As TMZ reports, Archie Manners and Josh Pieters dupe celebrities into thinking they're...

Carole Baskin: Tiger King Filmmakers Fooled Me

'There’s almost no way to describe the intensity of the feeling of betrayal,' she says

(Newser) - Netflix's insanely popular Tiger King has brought quite a bit of attention to Carole Baskin—much of it unwelcome . Now, the Big Cat Rescue founder and her husband, Howard, say the makers of the docuseries were not upfront with them. The Baskins, who have long worked to outlaw the...

Just When You Thought Tiger King Had Ended

Cast member Jeff Lowe says Netflix will air new episode 'next week'

(Newser) - "Joe Exotic" has become a household name for anyone who's been holed up at home with a Netflix account, because Tiger King—the "enthralling" and "disturbing" true-life series that documents the strange goings-on at the Oklahoma roadside zoo run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage and an equally strange...

Netflix's Tiger King Resurfaces Millionaire's Disappearance

Sheriff is asking for tips in 1997 vanishing of Don Lewis, then husband of Carole Baskin

(Newser) - The most popular show on Netflix on Tuesday is its series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness . Ditto on Monday. Rotten Tomatoes similarly lists it as the most popular show on TV right now. A Florida sheriff has taken note. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is leveraging the show's...

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