January 21, 2021
'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic Says He Didn't Get Trump Pardon Because He's 'Too Gay'
READ TIME: 1 MIN.
"Tiger King" star Joe Maldonado-Passage (a.k.a Joe Exotic) is reacting to news that he did not get a pardon from Donald Trump on his last day as the 45th president of the United States.
On Tuesday, Trump released dozens of names who he pardoned but, despite a plea, Maldonado-Passage's name wasn't on the list. Taking to Twitter soon after, Maldonado-Passage took direct aim at Trump, claiming he wasn't pardoned because in part of his sexuality.
"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."
Maldonado-Passage was sentenced in January 2020 to 22 years in federal prison for "violating federal wildlife laws and for his role in a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting his chief rival, Carole Baskin, who runs a rescue sanctuary for big cats in Florida," the Associated Press writes. Though he maintains his innocence, he "was also sentenced for killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records. A jury convicted him in April 2019."
"Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first," Maldonado-Passage also tweeted.
