‘Tiger King’ Star Joe Exotic Claims He Has Cancer And Still Wants A Pardon To Get Out Of Prison

Joe Exotic’s attempts to get a pardon from Donald Trump failed before his fellow reality TV star left office in disgrace, but according to the animal enthusiast his health has taken a turn for the worst. Exotic, who owned a wild animal preserve in Oklahoma and was convicted of setting up a murder-for-hire plot of a competitor, says he has prostate cancer.

According to TMZ, the Tiger King star who is still in jail for the various crimes he committed that were detailed in the Netflix series is hoping for a release from jail due to his diagnosis. As Exotic told the outlet, his PSA count for prostate cancer came back “very high” but has not been diagnosed by a doctor.

He seems to say it’s clear he has prostate cancer, because he says, “The prison has approved testing to verify what state it is in.” It appears there has been no diagnosis by a doctor.

Joe’s lawyer, John M. Phillips, tells TMZ, Joe is scheduled to undergo further testing in prison, however, the facility is limited in what it can do. Phillips is trying to get Joe a new trial.

Joe says he’s riddled with disease … “I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat. I don’t want anyone’s pity, what I need is when John Phillips gets the evidence he is working on, I need the world to help him get President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General to listen to the evidence.”

It’s the latest turn for Exotic, who has tried since Tiger King’s release on Netflix early in the pandemic last year to find a way out of prison. The show’s success made Exotic a household name, but he’s been unable to turn that publicity into any legal reasoning for him to get out of prison. Exotic even famously tried to secure a pardon from Trump near the end of his term, later remarking that he was “too gay” to get one from Trump after his efforts failed.

Hopefully he’s OK and gets treatment, but it’s unclear if Exotic’s case is anywhere near Biden’s to-do list these days.

[via TMZ]