‘Tiger King’ star Joe Exotic was jailed for trying to have an animal rights activist murdered. (Facebook)
As the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency slip away, Joe Exotic is getting desperate for that precious pardon – so he’s trying to get his attention the only way he knows how.
The “gun-toting gay redneck” star of Netflix’s Tiger King is currently staring down the barrel of 22 years in federal prison for a litany of offences, including a murder-for-hire plot to kill his nemesis Carole Baskin.
His only hope is a get-out-of-jail-free card from his fellow reality TV star Donald Trump, who vaguely suggested in April that he would “take a look” into the Oklahoma zoo owner’s case.
Exotic’s legal team have been chasing a pardon ever since. They’ve tried letters, they’ve tried Fox News, they’ve tried a a $94 million civil rights lawsuit against the federal government. They’ve even tried a 1,350-mile road trip to Washington in a tour bus emblazoned with Exotic’s face.
But with the president likely too busy dealing with his own impending doom, the “Tiger Team” are down to their last resort – dropping money at one of Trump’s hotels.
An anonymous organiser told the New York Times that Exotic’s representatives ran up a tab of about $10,000 during a recent visit to the Trump International Hotel in Washington to try to get the president’s attention.
That’s not strictly true, according to Mark Hayes, a Navy veteran and “Tiger Team Investigator” who contacted PinkNews to tell us that, actually, it was $14,445.
“I am one of the background investigators working for Eric Love (Fort Worth Big Juicy), and I was the co-driver for the bus trip to Washington DC,” he said in a claim that was subsequently verified.
“The information you have is incorrect. I am a member of the Tiger Team and we spent $14,445.00 USD at the Trump hotel In Washington DC.”
It’s an unsubtle tactic certainly befitting the eccentric tiger trainer, but it goes to show just how desperate he’s getting if his legal team really believes that extra $4,445 could swing it for them.
With just 50 days until Trump leaves office, they might have to try a little harder than that.