Times being what they are, everyone is looking for a distraction and seeking recommendations for the next great thing to stream from home. Some brave soul was the first to take a chance on the truly stranger-than-fiction Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, and since then it has become the latest cultural phenomenon. Joe Exotic may not have been the hero anyone wanted or deserved, but for this moment, he’s exactly the one we need.
By now you probably got a text from a friend, or saw a post on social media telling you that you must check out Tiger King, and that’s probably all they said. If pressed, they will tell you that it’s insane, incredible, or something of that nature, and they are spot on. It’s a level of ridiculousness the likes of which you haven’t seen since FYRE — which makes total sense they’re both produced by the same company. The layers and levels of the story being told are slowly revealed one after another, and each bombshell makes your jaw drop further. As you watch what at first glance would seem to be a documentary poking fun of an eccentric group of exotic animal owning individuals, gradually turn into a murder-for-hire story, you find yourself asking, “Is this for real?”
What’s mind-blowing, is that the murder-for-hire plot might not even be the most interesting story told through the seven-part series. Tiger King features a cast of characters that includes: drug dealers, activists, cons, polygamists, an apparent cult leader, and rudimentary lunatics, all sharing the common bond of loving big cats. Make no mistake though, the star of this beautiful monstrosity is none other than the mullet-having, gun-toting, wannabe country music star dressed in his best fringe jacket, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, a.k.a Joe Exotic.
While there are plenty of side stories and interesting connections scattered throughout, everything boils down to one intense feud between Joe, and Carole Baskin. Carole is owner and operator of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa Florida, and an activist for ending the private possession and trade of exotic cats. Through her work with legislators, she directly threatened the livelihood of Joe and he exhaustingly makes it his mission to bring her down by any means necessary.
While the documentary calls into question plenty of things about Carole, you should absolutely question the treatment of the tigers and other animals featured at the various animal parks, and formulate your own opinion as to which, if any of these establishments should be allowed to exist. Hopefully everyone does their own research before visiting anywhere that is exploiting animals for profit and find zoos and sanctuaries that are focused on guarding against extinction and aiding with rehabilitation and recovery of various species.
Guilty pleasure is a perfect description for what this story is. Clearly there are no great role models to be found, and the main intent is to sensationalize the bizarre events that have transpired over the last couple of decades. While you may find yourself somewhere between empathy and disdain for the people involved, there are some very sincere and heartbreaking human moments that arise along the way which just adds to the whirlwind of emotions you’ll feel while watching.
To talk too much about the specifics of Tiger King would be a disservice to anyone that has yet to start their personal journey, so it’s best to let the mystery of this remain and let everyone experience it for themselves. While the self-proclaimed wildest story you’ll never believe is unquestionably absurd and makes you cringe as much as laugh in disbelief, its nothing if not entertaining.
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