Joe Exotic, the subject of Netflix’s new hit series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, has been quarantined in a prison medical center after being exposed to the novel coronavirus.
Exotic, whose government name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 22-year sentence for hiring someone to kill his arch-rival, animal rights activist Carole Baskin. He was also convicted of killing adult tigers to make room in his petting zoo for more cubs and illegally selling tigers.
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Maldonado-Passage’s husband, Dillon Passage, told local media that the former roadside “zoo” owner was moved to the medical center after inmates at the jail where he was being held tested positive for the virus.
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Maldonado-Passage, a gay polyamorous meth user who ran for both president of the U.S. and governor of Oklahoma, was notorious for his internet videos that regularly targeted “that bi**h Carole Baskin” for abuse.
He was convicted in 2019 for paying a would-be hit man $3,000 to murder Baskin. The two had a longstanding feud going back years and Exotic regularly trolled Baskin online and threatened her life.
He has filed a $94 million lawsuit from jail, alleging he was targeted by law enforcement because he is gay. His lawsuit seeks $15 million for false imprisonment and selective enforcement plus an additional $75 million for loss of property and research. He also seeks restitution for the cost of boarding all of his big cats while he has been in jail.