In the tale of two narcissists, Tiger King’s Joe Exotic is reportedly expecting a presidential pardon from Donald Trump before Joe Biden is inaugurated as the next president of the US tomorrow (Janunary 20). In fact, he’s so certain that there’s already a limo parked nearby to pick him up when (read: if) the time comes.
Speaking to the Metro, private investigator Eric Love, who is leading Exotic’s case, said: “We have good reason to believe it will come through. We’re confident enough we already have a limousine parked about half a mile from the prison. We are really in action mode right now.”
Love added: “I’ve got make-up, wardrobe, the whole unit that will come up. The first thing Joe wants to do, he wants his hair done. He hasn’t had his hair done in two and a half years. That’s the first order of business. Then we’ll probably go and get some pizzas, steak, maybe a McRib.”
The Tiger King star is currently serving a 22-year sentence for animal abuse and hiring a hitman to murder his nemesis, Carole Baskin.
The former zoo owner was jailed in September 2018, ahead of the Netflix documentary that would catapult him to fame for his messy antics, riotous diss tracks, and wild style (plus, it was lockdown number one and there was nothing else to do).
In the wake of the Netflix show, and his newfound popularity, Exotic’s legal team pushed for a pardon from Trump, claiming that he was wrongly convicted of murder-for-hire.
In December, Trump’s team said that they are vetting a number of pardon requests as the outgoing president’s administration draws to a close. Among those is that of Joseph Maldonado-Passage (AKA Joe Exotic, AKA the Tiger King). “We’ve heard from the Tiger King,” one source told ABC News, adding: “You wouldn’t believe the amount of calls, some insane, we’ve gotten.”
It’s expected Trump will hand out 100 pardons in the hours he has remaining in the White House. Only time will tell (less than 24 hours, that is) if Exotic will be among those freed.