Joe Exotic didn’t get the presidential pardon he hoped for, and he thinks he knows why. The incarcerated Tiger King star took to Twitter to say that wasn’t one of Donald Trump‘s 143 pardons and commutations because he’s simply “too innocent and too gay”.
The man born Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage has spent the last year pleading and lobbying for Trump to pardon him from the 22-year-long prison sentence he’s currently serving. If you didn’t watch the tell-all Netflix series that defined early quarantine, Exotic is in jail for his involvement in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his big cat nemesis Carole Baskin, who won ownership of Exotic’s former zoo in a settlement after the TV show ended with Exotic’s imprisonment.
Once Exotic became an inescapable meme last spring, Don Jr. acknowledged his existence on Instagram and Trump said that he’d “take a look” at pardoning him before he left office. Exotic did everything he could to keep his name in Trump’s ear — having his legal team visit the White House, drafting up a 257-page letter pleading his case, and even reaching out to Kim Kardashian for assistance.
Exotic was so convinced that his efforts would pay off that he even hired a limo to pick him up from prison in expectation of being freed this week, but the pardon never manifested. Outraged, the 57-year-old has taken to Twitter to air his grievances at the Trump family and their circle of corruption.
“I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump,” he tweeted. “I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post. Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first.”
For anyone with a cursory understanding of Trump and who he really is, the fact that he left someone high and dry is completely unsurprising. The former president is a cruel, bigoted bastard, so homophobia might have played a part in his decisio. However, it’s more likely that Trump just forgot or didn’t care about Exotic in the first place. Now, the man has until 2037 to convince Joe Biden or one of his successors to release him, so we’ll see what stunts he pulls to make that happen.
I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump. I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post. Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first. pic.twitter.com/ysGfwnqlHi
— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) January 20, 2021
I’m told this is the limousine that will be waiting to pick up Joe Exotic if he receives the pardon tomorrow.
The lead advocate of Team Tiger tells me they’ll be taking him to a secure location. He says Joe doesn’t want anyone to see him until his hair his done. @koconews https://t.co/SICtee1AIl pic.twitter.com/AZATiyleig
— Perris Jones (@KOCOPerris) January 19, 2021
