‘Tiger King’ Stars Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, More: Where Are They Now?

Credit: Netflix

'Tiger King' Stars Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, More: Where Are They Now?

Here, Kitty Kitty! Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has captivated audiences with its colorful cast of real-life characters and a string of bombshell revelations that made its backdrop of exotic animals appear tame. The Netflix docuseries explores the little-known world of exotic animal owners, who are involved in more than just acquiring animals for their private zoos and rescues. At the center of the action is zoo owner Joe Exotic (real name: Joe Maldonado-Passage) and his nemesis, animal rights activist Carole Baskin, whose years-long feud reaches its breaking point. Drug runners, con men, gangsters, polygamy, homemade country music videos and a murder-for-hire plot have all made Tiger King the most-watched show on Netflix in the U.S. amid the coronavirus quarantine. Cardi B, Kim Kardashian, Jared Leto and Chrissy Teigen are just some of the celebrities who couldn't get enough of Tiger King and took to social media to share their thoughts. Cardi live-tweeted the episode on Thursday, March 26, and revealed she was on #TeamJoeExotic. "They did Joe so dirty over and over again," the "I Like It" rapper wrote before asking her followers, "Who you think is more wrong ? Narcissist joe ? Or Greedy Carol ? And why ?" Cardi later pledged to start a GoFundMe to free Exotic from prison. He is currently serving 22 years on two counts of murder-for-hire and 17 wildlife-related charges. Leto also live-tweeted the first episode and invited his fans to join him for a viewing party on March 26. He dressed for the occasion in a gold cowboy shirt and cowboy hat and held a tiger stuffed animal. “Got my popcorn. Pressing play on #TigerKing Episode 1. Let's do this,” he tweeted. [jwplayer KBWRAaHk-l3ahXupL] Kardashian asked her followers if they thought Baskin killed her husband on March 22. “Wow the amount of texts I’ve gotten about Tiger King since I tweeted about it all have mentioned their belief that Carol killed her husband!” she tweeted. “What are your thoughts? Do you think Carol killed him?” Dax Shepard and Edward Norton jokingly feuded over which actor would deliver a better portrayal of Exotic. "If I don't get cast as Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic, Hollywood is broken," Shepard tweeted on Wednesday, March 25. Norton quipped back, "Um, step aside, pal. You’re way too young and buff and you know it. You could probably pull off Maldonado still, actually. Wouldn’t that be fun?" Scroll down to see where the cast of Tiger King is now. [podcast_block]

Credit: Netflix

Joe Exotic

The former Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park owner was sentenced to 22 years in prison for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin. In March 2020, Exotic filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service for more than $70,000 claiming that they added "generic tiger" to the endangered species list to target businesses like his. The animal enthusiast is also seeking an additional $15 million from his former business partner, Jeff Lowe, and several of his former colleagues for a claim that they planted evidence against him. In January 2022, a federal judge resentenced him to 21 years in prison, despite his plea for early release amid his cancer battle.

Exotic split from his fifth husband, Dillon Passage, in March 2021. One day after announcing their separation, the TV personality’s lawyer confirmed to Us Weekly that they were putting the divorce on hold. In March 2022, however, the Netflix star officially filed for divorce from Passage after four years of marriage. The following month, Entertainment Tonight reported that Exotic has another man in his life, John Graham. “The prison romance is the reason Exotic recently filed divorce docs from jail,” his attorney told the outlet.

Credit: Netflix

Jeff Lowe

Exotic recruited Lowe to save the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park from Baskin's efforts to shut it down but the former pals had a falling out. The zoo remains open and is now in Lowe's name. The business owner plans to move the park to Thackerville, Oklahoma, and rename it the Oklahoma Zoo. The venture was scheduled to open in the summer of 2020 but could be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Credit: Netflix

Rick Kirkham

The former Inside Edition reporter, who filmed Exotic's reality TV web series, currently lives in Bodo, Norway, with his wife and is working on another documentary project.

Credit: Netflix

Bhagavan "Doc" Antle

The Myrtle Beach Safari owner, who Exotic called his mentor, raised eyebrows with his polygamist lifestyle with multiple female partners at his zoo. Antle criticized the documentary's portrayal of his facility, which has been compared to a cult, via Instagram in March 2020.

"We are very disappointed that our facility was mentioned in the new Netflix series. We can only assume it is because Doc Antle has been such a high profile wildlife personality for so many decades that his association would create more buzz," he wrote. "It is important to understand that this series is not a documentary; it’s sensationalized entertainment with paid participants. Tiger King is the bizarre story of Joe and Carole and their feud. These characters are not representative of experts in the wildlife sector or world class facilities like ours here in Myrtle Beach..." 

Credit: Netflix

Carole Baskin

The animal rights activist slammed Tiger King as “salacious and sensational" after its premiere in March 2020, because it covered the mysterious disappearance of her second husband, Don Lewis, and led viewers to question her possible connection. Baskin refuted the claims saying in a statement, "They [the producers] devoted an entire segment to 23-year-old lies and innuendos suggesting I was involved in my husband Don’s 1997 disappearance.”

Baskin continues to run the Big Cat Rescue animal sanctuary in Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her third husband, Howard Baskin.

Credit: Netflix

John Finlay

Finlay was married to Exotic at the same time as his late husband, Travis Maldonado. It was later revealed that Finlay isn't gay and had a sexual relationship with a female employee at the zoo, which resulted in her pregnancy. Finlay has since gotten a new set of teeth and lives in Texas where he is currently in a relationship with a woman.