Netflix released the highly-anticipated extra episode of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness on Sunday. While the Joel McHale-hosted special looked like it was hastily thrown together since it was filmed with social distancing in mind, it was still full of fascinating revelations about Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known to the world as Joe Exotic. The 40-minute The Tiger King And I aftershow included interviews with several people featured in the original documentary series.
Since Tiger King was released last month, it has become the most-talked about show during the coronavirus pandemic, as millions of Americans sit at home with a hunger for new shows. Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin’s seven-episode series satisfied many with its twists, turns and bizarre personalities. The series found a center in the rivalry between Maldonado-Passage and Carole Baskin, the owner of Big Cat Rescue who tried to shut down his private Oklahoma zoo.
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Unsurprisingly, Netflix sought for a way to capitalize on the show’s success, so they commissioned an aftershow episode. McHale interviewed Jeff and Lauren Lowe, Saff, Erik Cowie, John Finlay, John Reinke and Rick Kirkham from his home. He asked them several questions on everyone’s mind, including if they still have any loyalty left for Maldonado-Passage, who is in prison for hiring a hitman to kill Baskin. Needless to say, most of them are not still loyal to them and some said they want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. There were also plenty of other shocking revelations.
Joe once killed a horse and fed it to his tigers
Kirkham, the reality TV producer Moldonado-Passage hired to film his antics for “Joe Exotic TV,” told McHale from his home in Norway that his experiences with Moldonado-Passage were so traumatizing he still has nightmares about it. Kirkham claims he one saw Maldonado-Passage kill a horse after its owner asked him to take care of it, notes Variety. After the woman left, Maldonado-Passage killed the animal, chipped it up and fed it to his tigers.
Joe is scared of big cats
According to Kirkham, the show’s very title did not accurately describe Maldonado-Passage. He claims Joe Exotic is really terrified of the big cats he claimed to love. Anytime Maldonado-Passage posed with tigers, he made sure they were ones who never threatened him. One was blind, and the other was tranquilized, Kirkham claimed.
Jeff Lowe was not happy with his portrayal
Carole Baskin was not happy with how she was portrayed and did not participate in the aftershow. But Jeff Lowe, who was portrayed as a villain after he took over Maldonado-Passage’s zoo, did sit for an interview with McHale, alongside his wife Lauren. Lowe took the opportunity to shoot down the theory that he set-up Maldonado-Passage.
“I think they tried to sensationalize the story a little bit to give it a villain,” he said, notes USA Today. “You guys saw all the (threatening) videos that Joe was posting… Those videos where (Joe’s) shooting Carole, hanging Carole, blowing Carole up. … Joe was his own worst enemy.”
Footage of Saff’s arm being bitten by a tiger was used in the zoo safety video
Zoo manager Saffery told McHale the video showing his arm being bitten by a tiger was used in the zoo safety video. He admitted to watching it multiple times and never received money from Maldonado-Passage due to the injury. Despite needing to get the arm amputated, Saff said he trusts the tiger more than Maldonado-Passage.
Joe visited a shaman after Travis’ death instead of a therapist
One of the most shocking moments from Tiger King is the death of Travis Maldonado, Joe Exotic’s husband, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Joshua Dial, Maldonado-Passage’s former campaign manager, told McHale his boss went to a shaman instead of a therapist for help after Maldonado’s death. Dial said Maldonado-Passage’s condition only worsened. He also revealed that the bullet hole left behind from the shooting was left there for the remainder of his time working for Maldanado-Passage.
John Finlay also wasn’t happy with his portrayal
John Finlay, who married Maldonado-Passage alongside Travis, was also not happy with how he was portrayed. He was shirtless in every interview, showing off his tattoos, and felt he was seen as a “drugged-out hillbilly.” But by the time he was interviews, he was already four to five years clean, he said. Finlay admitted to binge-watching the show the day it was released alongside his fiancee. “I had to know what was on it, and so did she. And we had to be kind of prepared to know what was gonna go on,” he told McHale.
They don’t have sympathy for Joe
While some viewers have sided with Maldonado-Passage, to the point there were calls for President Donald Trump to pardon him, none of the people in The Tiger King and I have any sympathy for them. Zoo employee Erik Cowie, who now works for Lowe, bluntly said he wanted to see Maldonado-Passage die in prison. Kirkham said he regretted ever meeting him. Saff was the only one to say he did not think Maldonado-Passage should die behind bars.
