Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Just when you thought that Tiger King couldn’t get any more jaw-dropping Netflix swoops in with an after show. This past weekend the streaming giant released The Tiger King and I, an interview after show all about how your docuseries favorites are coping with their newfound fame. And as host Joel McHale gleefully unveils in what is categorized as Tiger King episode 8, there are a lot of secrets that didn’t make it past the cutting room floor.
Need another dose of madness, mayhem, and murder? Then look no further. Here are the 13 most shocking takeaways from the latest installment of Tiger King. From what Joe Exotic really thought about tigers to John Finlay’s new teeth, this new special is sure to leave you gasping. The only way to make this surprise episode better is if Netflix and McHale made this a weekly thing.
A lot of the cats that were killed were healthy.
One of the most shocking revelations from Tiger King is the fact that Joe Exotic would routinely kill his own big cats. Often when Joe Exotic wanted to put one of the animals down he would go to his former zookeeper Erik Cowie. “Those cats trusted me up until the end. And sometimes I swear they were like ‘You let me down’ kind of thing. I could see it in their face, in their eyes,” Cowie said.
Despite allegations from Joe Exotic that these animals were put down for their health, Cowie said that often wasn’t the case. Current G.W. Zoo owner Jeff Lowe confirmed that allegation, claiming that some of the tigers were killed just because Joe Exotic wanted more cage space.
Joe Exotic also needlessly killed a horse.
It’s now well known that Joe Exotic killed his big cats before he went to prison. But according to producer Rick Kirkham that wasn’t the extent of his cruelty.
According to Kirkham an old woman once brought her elderly horse to the G.W. Zoo. As she was crying, Joe Exotic promised her that the horse would be cared for and given lots of pasture to live out its final days. Then as soon as the woman left, Joe reportedly took out a revolver and shot it in the head. Kirkham recalled Joe Exotic saying, “I don’t take care of nobody’s animals. Now they’re tiger meat.”
Most of Joe Exotic's former allies don't think he should be free.
If there’s one thing everyone interviewed in Tiger King Episode 8 can agree on it’s that Joe Exotic should be in jail. Some of his former allies, like Erik Cowie and Joe Exotic TV producer Rick Kirkham declared that he was going to die in prison. Cowie even ended his prediction with “good riddance.” Some, like Jeff Lowe and his former campaign manager Josh Dial, highlighted all of the people who tried to rightfully bring Joe Exotic down before he was finally arrested. But even the one person who is the kindest to Joe, former animal keeper Saffery, thinks he belongs in jail.
“I think justice was served. But I still don’t want to see that man die in prison,” Saff said.
Erik Cowie doesn't appreciate your Motley Crue comparisons.
There have been a lot of celebrity comparisons to Tiger King‘s many eccentric subjects. But one in particular has not been appreciated.
“I fucking hate Motley Crue,” Erik Cowie said when asked about being likened to lead singer Vince Neil. Cowie went on to dub the band “too plastic.”
Joe Exotic was terrified of big cats.
This is another fascinating tidbit from producer Rick Kirkham. Joe Exotic was allegedly scared of the animals he built his career around.
“He was scared to death of lions and tigers,” Kirkham said. “In the shots that you see in there where he’s in with the two tigers, the white one and the other one, the white one is blind and the other one is on tranquilizers.”
Many of the subjects aren't happy with their portrayals.
Specifically Jeff Lowe, the current owner of G.W. Zoo, and John Finlay, Joe’s ex-husband, aren’t happy with how they turned out. “I think they tried to sensationalize the story a little bit to give it a villain,” Lowe said about his cut of the documentary.
As for Finlay, he called his portrayal a “drugged out hillbilly.” At the time of filming Tiger King Finlay was four to five years clean, a decision he made after the birth of his daughter.
Jeff and Lauren Lowe think that Carole Baskin killed her ex-husband.
When asked if they thought Carole Baskin killed her first husband Don Lewis, Lauren Lowe didn’t hold back. “Abso-fucking-lutely,” Lowe said.
Joe Exotic blew up John Reinke's golf cart and cabin.
Craving another story about Joe Exotic’s explosive temper? Former manager John Reinke has you covered. According to Reinke one of Joe Exotic’s blowups ended with Joe knocking out the windshield of Reinke’s golf cart and blowing a hole in his cabin.
Saff wishes the docuseries showed the kinder side of Joe Exotic.
Though Saff agreed that Joe Exotic belongs in prison, he also expressed frustration about how one-sided his former boss’s portrayal was. Saff pointed to Joe’s annual tradition of making and giving out Thanksgiving dinner as proof of his better qualities. “I’ve seen him give the jacket off his back to people. And I think that wasn’t highlighted enough,” Saffery said. “Joe did a lot of messed up stuff, and that’s a fact. That’s shown and now the entire world knows it. But he did a lot of good things too.”
Josh Dial is collecting money for get counseling.
One of the most devastating part of the docuseries revolves around the death of Travis Maldonado, one of Joe Exotic’s former husbands. While proving to Josh Dial that a gun he purchased wasn’t loaded, Maldonado shot himself in the head. Dial saw the entire tragedy, and it’s clear the accident traumatized him.
Though Joe Exotic and the G.W. Zoo never offered Dial any grief counseling, Dial is currently working to raise money to get counseling on his own. Dial also revealed that Joe Exotic spoke with a shaman after Maldonado’s death to help him grieve. But according to the former campaign manager, the shaman only made Joe less stable.
John Finlay has new teeth and a finished tattoo.
That’s right! John Finlay, Joe Exotic’s ex-husband who left him to raise his daughter, now has a brand new pair of teeth. He also wants fans to know that the stomach tattoo people are mocking wasn’t completely finished during filming. Now it is, and he plans on showing it off sometime in the future. So please stop mocking his tattoo artist.
Jeff Lowe is a better owner of the G.W. Zoo.
Erik Cowie, the head zookeeper of G.W. Zoo, is the only interviewed docuseries subject who still works at the zoo after Jeff Lowe gained complete control. According the Cowie the zoo under Lowe is “pretty relaxed.” Lowe doesn’t scream and lose his temper as much as Joe Exotic did.
The 'Tiger King' subjects have thought about who should play them in the movie.
And they’ve got some great answers. Despite many fans thinking that Matthew McConaughey should play Joe Exotic, former manager John Reinke thinks McConaughey should play him. As for Saff and producer Rick Kirkham, their eyes are set on Johnny Tsunami‘s Brandon Baker and Billy Bob Thornton.
