As we all have become accustomed to staying on our couches during this time of uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Big Cats are awesome. Joe Exotic, or the Tiger King he is now called, has a flair for the dramatics. I’m not sure what I was entertained by more, Joe’s theatrics or the lions and tigers and bears…oh my! There is much to be seen in Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
Meet Joe Maldonado-Passage, born Joseph Schreibvogel, stage name “Joe Exotic”. He was the owner and breeder of G.W. Zoo. He has gained quite a reputation in the animal rights world and various exotic pet owners circles, mostly a bad reputation. This documentary has given him even more notoriety, even while he sits in prison. He allegedly hired a hit-person to travel and kill Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist and owner of Big Cat Rescue. Big Cat Rescue is an animal sanctuary in Tampa, FL where Carole and her husband Howard have many wild cats, all of which are living their life out.
Over the past ten years or so, there has been a lot of bad blood between Carol and Joe. Carol is fervently against these zoo’s for money or the use of cub pettings. While she targets all of these zoo’s, many mentioned in the documentary, Joe feels as if her accusations are a jab at him personally. So he goes to many extremes in his internet videos, music videos and various media outlets to discredit Carole and remind people that her husband mysteriously disappeared in 1997. 
The 7-part series covers a history of Joe and his various lovers, Carole and the accusations surrounding the disappearance of her husband Jack Donald Lewis, and the conviction of Joe Exotic for animal cruelty, the murder-for-hire charge with various other juicy drama in between.
I couldn’t stop watching the documentary. It was chaotic from start to finish! I was hooked and I even went to look up more information after I was done watching. I formulated my own opinions on the whole ordeal but I won’t share that here. I think people should think for themselves and make their own opinion after watching and I urge people to look deeper than the documentary. I agree that it is a must-watch though!
10/10
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is on Netflix now!
