The Tiger King is on the move.
Joseph Maldonado, better known as “Joe Exotic” from the Netflix documentary Tiger King, announced on Twitter earlier this month that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
“Doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer, Carole Will have her own party over this!
Say a prayer everyone & be my voice. love #joeexotic #exclusive #breakingnews #freejoeexotic #justiceforjoeexotic.”
Exotic is, of course, currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after being found guilty of hiring hitmen to kill rival zoo owner Carole Baskin and a slew of other animal-related charges.
He had been serving his sentence at a federal medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas, while also engaging in high-profile attempts to have his sentence reduced or overturned (along with his failed attempt to get a pardon from former President Trump).
But yesterday, Exotic’s attorney John Phillips announced that the Tiger King had been transferred to a federal medical facility in North Carolina to undergo treatment for his prostate cancer.
In a letter posted to Twitter, Phillips said that Exotic was transferred to the Butner Federal Medical Facility, a prison in North Carolina for inmates who have special medical needs.
“During the late hours of November 16 or early morning hours of November 17, 2021, Joe was taken out of his cell and put on a private plane and transferred from the Ft. Worth Federal Medical Center to the Butner Federal Medical Center. The transfer was supposed to occur later in the month…
As noted in Joe’s recent statements, he has been undergoing medical treatments and tests for a host of issues. The PSA test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. It was high months ago. He finally obtained biopsies. They revealed two cancerous areas. He is undergoing further testing.”
A federal appeals court recently vacated Exotic’s sentence, ruling that he should have received a shorter prison sentence after finding errors in the way that the lower court calculated its sentencing range. The convictions still stand, however, and Exotic is currently awaiting resentencing while also attempting to have his convictions overturned.
The new season of Tiger King also recently dropped on Netflix, although this season focuses more on Exotic’s rival Carole Baskin than it does Exotic’s antics (we did learn that Joe Exotic was the youngest police chief in Texas, though).
Prayers up for Joe Exotic. Hope he manages to pull through.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Exotic, it’s that he’s a fighter.
