‘Tiger King’ Aftershow: Joe Exotic’s Ex-Husband John Finlay Unrecognizable With New Beard, Teeth

Joe Exotic’s ex-husband John Finlay was practically unrecognizable during his appearance on the Joel McHale-hosted Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness aftershow, which debuted Sunday. Previously stating that the series made him out to be a “drugged-out hillbilly,” Finlay flashed a new smile and beard during his appearance on the new episode.

“When I’m looking at you, there’s something different looking about you… you’re wearing a shirt. I’m kidding; your teeth look amazing,” McHale said. McHale hosted the series from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Finlay called in from home along with his fellow guests, including Erik Cowie, the head keeper of the zoo; current zoo owners Lauren and Jeff Lowe; former manager John Reinke; former animal keeper Saff; and Exotic’s ex-campaign manager Josh Dial.

“It took a while to get ’em, but once I actually got ’em it took me a while to get ’em to where I was able to really wear ’em,” Finlay responded of his new teeth. Following the docuseries’ debut, Finlay had explained that he had actually had his new teeth throughout filming, though the series never showed them. Now, Finlay wears them “‘pretty much all the time.”

Among a number of other big bombshells and revelations made throughout the special episode, it was Finlay’s new appearance that took social media by storm. As viewers tuned in to watch the aftershow, many flocked to social media to react, with one person writing that “those pearly whites look good, man.”

During the aftershow, Finlay also opened up about how the series represented him. Revealing that he watched the seven-part docuseries upon its debut, he admitted that he was upset with how he was portrayed.

“I actually watched it that night, and me and my fiancée both binge-watched it in seven hours. 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 said. “I was portrayed as a drugged-out hillbilly, and that was not me then. At that time, I was four to five years clean.”

All eight episodes of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness are currently available for streaming. A Joe Exotic biopic, based on the second season of Wondery’s Over My Dead Body podcast, is currently in the works. SNL star Kate McKinnon is slated to take on the role of Exotic’s enemy, Carole Baskin.