GW Exotic Animal Park (Closed) GW Animal Park Discussion

Well, the trailer did seem to put Caroline Baskin in a positive light, unfortunately.

 

Yeah, Joe's been bragging about it, he's a fan of "any publicity is good publicity". There's billboards for it.

 

Update for anyone that hasn't been on Netflix recently: the Tiger King documentary is now fully available for streaming.

 

At least Joe Exotic has found a way to pass the time in prison: he is filing a mega million dollar lawsuit.
'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic Files $94M Lawsuit From Federal Prison

 

No surprise whatsoever. He's actually pretty busy in prison - he gets some internet access and frequently posts on facebook about his innocence, being famous, he was framed, etc. He also runs a web shop where he sells his own merch. Which is blowing up now thanks to netflix I'm pretty grossed out by the number of people buying his stuff.

 

So, from what I understand, he's basically just gotten a slap on the wrist. Why do they let him have internet access? Why don't they actually punish him?

 

I have no idea and it's really frustrating. At least he can't abuse his animals from there (Jeff is doing it for him), but he's still free to speak his BS.

 

His punishment is a 22-year sentence in federal prison.

 

But they aren't taking anything away. The only thing he can't do is continue to abuse animals himself.

 

Or hire people to murder other people.

 

Good point, good point.

 

Has anybody actually watched the Netflix series yet? Originally I had planned on avoiding it, but morbid curiosity is starting to get the best of me and considering the circumstances right now, could be a fun way to kill time.

 

I have also wanted to watch it for curiosity but I am avoiding it at all costs.

 

Definitely worth watching, very sensationalised but so much drama. Unbelievable that this could (and still does) happen in a first world country.

 

I finished watching it last week. I agree somewhat with @migdog, it's sensationalized and dramatized to a degree that is often cringe-worthy, but the story is really fascinating and it has a lot of information in it... including about a few other individuals in the private zoo world. Whether the true crime biopic-type story is your preference or not is up to you.

There was also a podcast released by Wondery last summer that tells mostly the same story, although it is more succinct (focuses much more on just Exotic and Baskin) and not as dramatized; unfortunately, it also doesn't have the end details since he wasn't sentenced until January of this year. I found that podcast to be more palatable, but it does lack a lot of the industry context that the documentary has - and of course, some people like to have something to watch rather than just listen to.

 

What I find interesting is a lot of this stuff, i.e. Doc's employee "arrangment", Carol's previous husband Don, Joe in general, has been known in the field for quite some time and now has had mass public exposure. I highly support the private sector but there are the nuts that give it a bad rep

 

I've been seeing a lot of "Team Joe" stuff online. I hope people are just joking, but Urban Jungles supposedly posted a "video interview" sort of thing with Joe to allow him to talk about his innocence.

 

If it makes you feel any better, the show definitely makes Carol Baskin seem like a gigantic hypocrite; in no way does she come out ahead in this. In fact, BCR has a post on their website to refute it. It really makes Carol Baskin and Doc Ante/Joe Exotic seem like two sides of the same coin, and they really are quite similar in a lot of ways. It's definitely sensational and dramatic, but I'd recommend it. Great popcorn and quarantine viewing.

 

It leaves a lot out. The number of people who now think Joe is great is disgusting.

 

I'm sure it does leave a lot out, however, it is a limited series. Given time and budgetary constraints you can't include everything, you just have to include the most interesting parts of a story. That said, I really don't see how anyone would think Joe Exotic is great from viewing the documentary. He's vaguely personable, I guess, but his paranoid ranting, threats of violence, inadequate facilities, and extremely predatory labor practices really make me struggle to understand how anyone's takeaway from the doc was "Joe is neat"...Well, looking at the current occupant of the Oval Office, maybe I don't struggle that much