What Life Is Like For Joe Exotic Behind Bars

The following article includes references to addiction and allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse.

There's quite a lot to absorb while watching Netflix's "Tiger King." The docuseries' first season alone gave us a polygamous marriage, a missing husband, a fake music career, a strangely shirtless interview, and a celebrity-connected, big cat-peddling peer, just to name a few of the jaw-dropping aspects of what viewers have witnessed onscreen. Needless to say, it's been a roller coaster of a real-life story. 

However, surely the most outrageous part of the docuseries has been the murder-for-hire plot. In January 2020, Joe Exotic (whose legal name is Joe Maldonado), the star of the doc and former owner of the G.W. Exotic Animal Park, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for selling cubs and killing five tigers. He's also spending time behind bars for attempting to have his nemesis and the woman behind a famous big cat sanctuary, Carole Baskin, killed. During a meeting in December 2017 with an FBI agent working undercover, as argued by the prosecution, Exotic struck a $10,000 murder contract, in which he apparently was recorded saying (via the New York Post), "Just like follow her into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off." 

Although Exotic has claimed that he never really wanted any harm to come to Baskin, the jury deciding his fate obviously didn't believe him, which is why he's now in prison ... and he's certainly been open about not enjoying his stay. Here's what life has been like for Joe Exotic behind bars.

Joe Exotic has long claimed that he's innocent and that he's had every intention of being released. "At some point the U.S. Attorneys office and Agents involved will have to answer to the fact that they participated in Perjury to obtain this conviction," he said in a statement shared on Facebook in January 2020. "I was punished for taking advantage of my Constitutional Rights to not plead guilty to their very well-orchestrated frame job of murder for hire."

According to The Blast, Exotic filed an appeal in federal court that March. He also filed a $94 million lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and against Jeff Lowe, his former business partner, and other colleagues. While he ultimately dropped the suit in August 2020, there's still one more thing: Exotic has long wanted a presidential pardon. "The Trump Administration must be made aware of the Overreach, perjury, abuse of power and the failure to uphold the Oath of their position which is truth and Justice for all," he wrote in another Facebook statement that March. "I have been illegally charged with these crimes and the Trump Administration, the United States Department of Interior along [with] the Federal Wildlife service must be held accountable for what they have done to me, my parents, and my family, along with my animals."

Though Exotic clearly remained upset about his circumstances, at this point, he was also supposedly enjoying the attention and support he'd attracted from celebrities like Cardi B.

When it was time for Donald Trump to release a list of presidential pardons in January 2021, Joe Exotic was ready. The Tiger King's friends had reportedly prepared a limo for him and waited outside the prison all day, but no pardon came. "I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump," Exotic furiously claimed on Twitter. "I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post." He continued by accusing the Trumps of only giving last-minute pardons to their friends and business associates, rather than anyone who had actually been locked up unfairly.

The woman he tried to have murdered had her own perspective on the outcome, however. "I'm taking a deep breath because I feel such a sense of relief," Carole Baskin told Fox News after the Trump administration left Washington, D.C., adding that she had been afraid of a last-minute pardon setting Exotic free ever since he first went to prison. "When today at noon a new president was sworn in, I felt like I was finally safe from that threat," Baskin continued. She also insisted that Exotic's sentence of 22 years was too light given the nature of the zookeeper's crimes, claiming that he should count himself lucky that he didn't get more.

Still, Exotic's campaign to win his freedom continued, as he swiftly turned his attention to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Although Joe Exotic went into prison happily coupled up with Dillon Passage, who had appeared in the Netflix documentary, they split in March 2021. "Dillon thinks having to sleep alone and not have me out there is so rough and hard to deal with to the point he has to leave me," Exotic wrote on Instagram at the time, insisting that he was the one who had really suffered during his time in prison and alleging that he had paid for Passage's comfortable lifestyle rather than his own legal defense. "All I ever wanted was to mean something to someone," Exotic added. "Why is that so much to ask?"

Passage later shared pictures of his new boyfriend, John, on Instagram. That August, Passage accused Exotic of emotional abuse and manipulation. "I started to realize I was another animal in a cage that Joe wanted to control that he could come to when he wanted to play," he insisted in an Instagram Live, further alleging that he wasn't allowed to see his family or friends during the course of the relationship. 

However, Passage also reflected on Exotic's generosity and reaffirmed his belief in Exotic's innocence. "I hope and I pray that Joe gets out of prison because he doesn't deserve to be there," Passage said. "He doesn't deserve to suffer in prison, but I also do not deserve to suffer in a relationship where I'm constantly being belittled and torn down and have things held against me and over my head."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

The Tiger King has never had a straightforward, conventional love life — and that didn't change once he went to prison. After running his online competition, Joe Exotic then fell for another convict in the same prison.

In a letter published by TMZ in April 2022, Exotic explained that he had been with his new boyfriend, John Graham, for over a year and that they had gotten engaged in August 2021. He called Graham, who was reportedly interested in witchcraft and wanted to get married in an ancient forest, "extremely romantic and caring." Exotic also described their connection as being similar to the supernatural romance series "Twilight."

They were in the same unit at FMC Fort Worth and saw each other constantly before Graham was sent away, although Exotic clarified that they still spoke through letters and over the phone. In an Instagram post from February 2022, he spoke about Graham's struggles with addiction, revealing that his then-fiancé had worked on his sobriety and repairing his relationship with his son, John Graham Jr.. So even though they weren't in the same prison anymore, Exotic was still happy to give himself Graham's last name and speak about them being each other's family. "John Graham Sr. is my heart," he wrote. "I will now and forever love this man, with God's help we will get home."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

In May 2021, Joe Exotic revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and argued that he should be released from prison early due to this medical emergency. "The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in," he told his fans on Twitter, explaining what symptoms he was already showing. "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 also explained that doctors had found a tumor below the ribs on his right side and would be performing a biopsy, as well as other medical procedures like a colonoscopy and endoscopy.

Exotic didn't hesitate to use this diagnosis as part of his "Free Joe Exotic" campaign, now focused on President Joe Biden rather than entreating with ex-POTUS Donald Trump. "I don't want anyone's pity," Exotic said in another tweet, adding that what he actually needed was for Biden to let him out on compassionate grounds. Claiming that the Department of Justice was just as full of corruption as local police, he argued that the president needed to "make this right and sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food." 

That August, TMZ reported that Exotic might not have received that medical care, with attorney John M. Phillips stating that the prostate cancer could have spread to his pelvis and stomach already.

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Joe Exotic was moved from his Texas federal prison to be treated at North Carolina's FMC Butner in late 2021. According to a letter from Exotic published by TMZ in February 2023, his doctor was afraid that it had spread to his bladder. 

"I want to stay here and just let it take its course," Exotic wrote of his disinterest in pursuing further treatment, claiming that he might become an example of how corruption in the legal system could lead to medical needs being overlooked. "If I have to be the one to die innocent in here fighting for the truth maybe people around the world will finally speak up for the truth for once," Exotic's letter read, concluding with, "I could care less about dying, my birthday is coming up soon and all I want is to see Seth."

Earlier that month, Exotic had already seemed to be planning for the worst, as he told TMZ of his funeral arrangement plans and that he'd asked for a Do Not Resuscitate order in his will in case of a medical emergency. He had also arranged for his fiancé, Seth Posey, to be the sole benefactor in his new will, with Posey's son next in line after him. Expressing his frustration with his ongoing imprisonment, but his gratitude for Posey, Exotic told the outlet, "There's so many of us in here that don't belong here — we should be out with our families, so I appreciate your support. Be my voice!"