Carole Baskin responds to news that Joe Exotic failed to receive Trump pardon: ‘He belongs in a cage’
Exotic had been hoping to receive a presidential pardon on Trump’s last day in office
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Carole Baskin has reacted to the news that Donald Trump did not pardon Joe Exotic.
Exotic – real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage – is currently serving a 22-year sentence in Fort Worth, Texas, after being convicted in 2019 of trying to hire a hitman to kill his zookeeper rival Baskin, as well as numerous animal abuse charges.
On Trump’s final day in office yesterday (20 January), one of his last acts in power was to pardon or give a commuted sentence to 143 people, including rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.
Exotic – who had publically been petitioning for a presidential pardon and also wrote a letter to Trump requesting one – was not pardoned.
Baskin told BuzzFeed News: “I think only Joe’s team and the media were ever even thinking about a pardon for Joe.
“There is no benefit, other than a feeble attempt to deflect attention, for anyone to pardon someone who walked up to five tigers and shot them in the head in order to clear cage space for the circus, who was going to pay him to board their tigers during the offseason.”
She added that Exotic is receiving the “equal justice” that he deserves.
“Tigers are the world’s favourite animal and Joe Schreibvogel Maldonado-Passage is right where he belongs: in a cage," she said.
Both Exotic and Baskin found fame in Netflix’s docuseries Tiger King, which aired in March last year and swiftly became a global phenomenon.
Fans of the series have also reacted to the news that Exotic was not pardoned, with many joking that the zookeeper’s legal team would have had to call off the limousine that had been allegedly waiting near his prison to escort him home.
Exotic responded to the news in a Twitter post that reads: “I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump. I only mattered to Don Jr when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post.”
The 57-year-old added: “Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments