‘Tiger King’: Travis Barker Compares Joe Exotic to Scarface, Draws Instant Reactions

The internet has been preoccupied with conversations about Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness since it premiered on Netflix back in March. After the streaming service just added a supplemental eighth episode to the wildly popular Netflix series, TMZ broadcast its own one-hour special about the docuseries, Tiger King – What Really Went Down? Among the guests was Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, who compared series star Joe Exotic to Scarface.

“I felt like Joe Exotic was, out of cat people, he was the Scarface of cat people,” Barker said of Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage. “He literally had it all and was on top of the world and was makin’ moves and just acted out of emotions and lost it all. Kind of like the story of Scarface. It was really relatable.”

Scarface (the 1983 version) tells the story of immigrant-turned-drug lord Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, chronicling his meteoric rise and violent decline. While few were disputing Barker’s comparison to the crime drama, which is loosely based on the 1932 film of the same name, the fact that he referred to the story as “relatable” had some people confused. As did having Barker as a special guest on the one-hour program in the first place. Of course, Twitter lit up accordingly.

​

Given the circumstances created by social distancing guidelines, the series was filled with interviews done via webcam, including celebrities like Dr. Phil and Nancy Grace. 

​

Dr. Phil said that Exotic suffered from “malignant narcissism” and that he didn’t “have the ability to weigh the consequences.” The latter was in reference to Exotic being found guilty of 17 counts of federal animal abuse and two counts of plotting a murder for hire. 

​

The special also interviewed Allen Glover, the alleged hitman hired by Exotic to execute his public rival, Carole Baskin. Glover said that he wished he’d had caused more harm to the former private zoo owner for all of the “misery” that he has caused people and animals.

​

TMZ also spoke with James Garretson, who famously became an FBI informant that led to Exotics arrest and subsequent imprisonment. Although, his interview wasn’t quite as captivating as the fact he did it entirely on a jet ski. 

​

As far as Barker’s initial comparison, some viewers pointed out that the story of 1983’s Scarface is, itself, inspired by drug kingpin Mario Tabraue. Otherwise known as — you guessed it — The Tiger King. 

​

Tiger King – What Really Went Down? Will be available to stream on Hulu and Fox.com starting Tuesday. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is available to stream on Netflix now.