Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, Netlfix’s latest true crime docuseries, focuses on plenty of colorful characters, with all of them having some sort of tie to Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic. Among that cast of characters is Jeff Lowe, who took over ownership of Exotic’s zoo, Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Lowe is portrayed with a businessman with a questionable financial portfolio, who divides his time between the Oklahoma zoo and Las Vegas. The series also takes time to suggest Lowe may have duped Exotic into giving up his zoo, and it also shows Lowe assisting federal authorities build a case against Exotic. Despite the mixed portrayal, Lowe isn’t too concerned about the way he and his fiancée, Lauren Dropla, were portrayed.
“Lauren and I just finished watching the Tiger King. Overall, we think they did a good job,” Lowe wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post on the zoo’s page. “A little sensationalism here and there, but for the most part it was a decent Readers Digest version, telling the story of a sick, twisted animal abuser. Joe Exotic. When i agreed to be involved in this docuseries I was slightly concerned that by Son’s Of Anarchy lifestyle might be too much for the average person to handle. I make no apologies for living my life to the fullest extent. Bu those concerns completely vanished when I saw the segment on Doc Antle, Joe’s Messiah and role model. Even I was like, [what the f—]?
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Lowe went on to thank supporters, saying that they want to be remembered for their work helping federal authorities take down Exotic, who they call a “monster.” They also allude to financial struggles to keep the zoo afloat, also noting the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is slowing business down.
“Regardless, Lauren and I remain committed to the care of hundreds of animals who rely on us to keep them safe and healthy,” Lowe said. “It has exhausted the small fortune I once held, I even sold my Ferrari to help build our animals larger enclosures. But I wouldn’t trade our lives with any Hollywood star. We have some incredibly generous supporters. We’re doing great and when this Coronavirus crap has passed, we will ramp things back up.
“I will always believe that our biggest contribution to the animal kingdom was helping the feds take down monsters like Joe Exotic and Tim Stark. No zoo we ever build will have the positive impact of taking out the nation’s largest tiger cub traffickers. Thank you all for your continued support. Lauren and I are forging on, everyday to complete a new facility that can provide out animals with more space, far away from ‘The Curse of Joe Exotic.’”
Other prominent figures in the documentary series, including Carole Baskin and Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, have been less enthusiastic about their portrayals.
All episodes of Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness are currently streaming on Netflix.
Photo Credit: Ruaridh Connellan/BarcroftImages / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
