Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has claimed that Tiger King subject Joe Exotic once asked for an endorsement from the musician, during his days of political ambition. In a post on Instagram, Manson shared an old screenshot from a time when Exotic allegedly messaged him on the social media site.
“Hey. Thanks for the follow. I’m running for Governor of Oklahoma and trying to speak for the real people for a change and get some people to help with an addiction in this State that no one cares about,” Exotic wrote, then asking, “Would you endorse me? Not asking for money. Just to use your name as an endorsement.” Manson issued his response in the post’s caption, writing, “Nope. Don’t F— With Cats,” seemingly referring to another one of Netflix’s hit documentary series.
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Exotic once attempted to run for president, and then for Governor of Oklahoma, but never made it past the primary. He is currently serving time in prison after being convicted on two counts of murder for hire, eight violations of the Lacey Act, and nine violations of the Endangered Species Act.
Tiger King co-director Eric Goode spoke with Ladbible and revealed that Exotic phoned him from jail after the documentary series aired and expressed joy at how the series was being received by viewers.
“You know, [Joe] has lived his entire life just to be famous and so to finally realise this fame is just… He’s tickled pink. Even though he’s behind bars it’s really interesting to see Joe’s response — it’s incredible, and very surprising,” Goode said, then adding, “He’s absolutely thrilled.”
Goode then went on to say that while he’s also happy people are responding well to Tiger King, he definitely has complicated feelings about Exotic.
“Look, I have empathy for Joe and there are many qualities that I found fascinating and endearing about Joe. But at the same time Joe did horrific things, and he was one of those people that would try to tell you what you wanted to hear,” Goode said.
“He’s very manipulative – and smart in many ways – but in the end you know all of these people, including Carole, created their own little world within a world. Most of them are living outside of mainstream America,” he added. “In Joe’s case, he really created his own world and played by his own rules, and in the end he was his own worst enemy.”
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is now streaming on Netflix.
