The Tiger King after-show is here!
The Tiger King And I began streaming on Netflix on Sunday, with host Joel McHale catching up with ALL the cool cats and kittens out there (well, aside from Carole Baskin) who made the reality show such a stunning success on Netflix these last few weeks! And oh boy, did we ever learn a LOT from the show itself!
Related: ‘Tiger King’ Stars Reveal More HORRIBLE Things About Joe Exotic…
Now, as you have probably come to expect with new shows out by now, McHale interviewed everyone involved virtually in light of the coronavirus pandemic — so nobody got to sit down in a room and go after each other or anything. But pretty much everybody besides Carole was there, anyways, including brand new interviews from: John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Kelci ‘Saff’ Saffery, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkham, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe.
The whole thing is worth a watch for those of you who saw the full docu-series over the last few weeks, but in case you haven’t seen the after-show yet — or just want to get to the good parts! — here is all that we learned from this new hour of must-see Netflix TV!
Contents [hide]
Famous, or Fame-ish?
For one, adjusting to their newfound fame has been an interesting experience for much of the cast, as Reinke explained (below):
“It’s a lot different [after the show aired] actually. You’re waiting on somebody to come up to you. They care about the COVID-19, they want to shake your hand, get a picture with you. It’s pretty crazy. I don’t consider myself a celebrity. I think I’m just a man on a damn documentary.”
Saffery added more of his own experiences in the after-show aftermath, too:
“I don’t have any anonymity. I have been recognized in public places, which is new to me. I was walking through Walmart on a late-night run, should’ve only taken me 10 minutes. I was stopped three times during a pandemic in Walmart.”
Ha!
Kirkham, who has actually been living in Norway since the release of the show (!) showed McHale a two-page newspaper print-out detailing the whole documentary, too:
“Has Tiger King reached Norway? Let me show you the newspaper that came out yesterday. Yeah, the phenomenon has hit Norway in a big way. It’s number one in Norway. I can’t even take a walk down at the fjord without somebody walking their dog, pointing, going, ‘That’s him! That’s him!’ in Norse. You hear Tiger King if I walk through the mall.”
Geez… what that must be like, in Norway, of all places!
CRAZY!!!
Portrayal Problems
The cast had decidedly mixed reactions over how they were portrayed in the show. Baskin, for one, has been on record saying the producers did her dirty (which, hey, she may not be wrong?!), and so it’s no wonder she didn’t pop in on the after-show.
But even the other cast members and interviewees had mixed reactions over how they were portrayed, including Jeff Lowe, who said “they tried to sensationalize a story a little to give it a villain.”
Related: Donald Trump Says He’ll ‘Look Into’ Potential Joe Exotic Presidential Pardon
Finlay, Joe Exotic’s ex, added more about his own “drugged-out” portrayal too:
“I was portrayed as a drugged-out hillbilly. And that was not me then. At that time, I was four to five years clean. When my daughter was born, I decided to never touch another drug again.”
Well then! Finlay later said in the after-show that he decided to do all his interviews shirtless to show off his tattoos, too… OK!
Regrets, regrets, regrets!
Kirkham, now banished to Norway, was perhaps the most direct in his regret in working with Joe Exotic, when he said:
“I regret ever meeting Joe Exotic because I went in because I saw there was a great opportunity for an incredibly wonderful show about big animals and this crazy zookeeper. But I too was sucked into the surreal world of Joe Exotic. I will never get over it, I still have nightmares, Joel. I still have nightmares today. I had nightmares last night. And since this docuseries has been back, I’ve had more nightmares about having lived on that park. I want to put this chapter away, but it keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. The one thing that I think that can come out of this docuseries that is good is that people are now going, ‘free the animals.’ I think that’s the best thing.”
That’s crazy! And this from the grizzly old TV producer who you’d think would’ve seen it all by now… guess not?!
Anyways…
Joe Exotic… In Absentia!
There was much talk on the after-show of Joe Exotic himself, the star of the documentary. But Exotic — real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage — can’t exactly cash in on his newfound fame, though, considering he’s in the middle of serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for plotting to assassinate Baskin. And for a lot of the cast members, it’s pretty ironic that he can’t even enjoy his own fame, but is instead locked up in a cage himself.
Jeff Lowe said:
“This is the notoriety and fame that Joe always wanted. It’s pretty ironic that he’s now stuck in a cage and can’t even enjoy it. He’s where he belongs and I would probably just tell him, ‘Gotcha.’ The USDA tried to take him down, PETA’s tried to take him down, Humane Society tried to take him down. Carole Baskin spent $2.5 million trying to take him down and we’re the ones who did it.”
No kidding…
And Dial added up an interesting component to the mix, noting how Joe Exotic is still loving all the attention despite being behind bars — but he may not be very excited to return to Oklahoma when it’s all said and done. Dial offered up:
“[Joe has been] communicating with some of his old fans and having them run Facebook pages so he’s getting all the messages people are sending, all the money people are raising for him. He’s getting all that. He’s in the loop on this and he’s loving every minute of it. I guarantee that … [but] people in Oklahoma hate Joe Exotic. He’s gay. This is a very red state and us gay folk are almost an endangered species here.”
Yeah, we were kind of wondering about that during the show, TBH…
Related: Doc Antle Pushes Back Against Claim Of ‘Multiple Wives’
Still, Kirkham at least believes Exotic won’t leave prison alive — which was a pretty shocking moment in the show. The longtime reality TV producer offered up his thoughts on the Tiger King star, saying:
“I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think Joe Exotic will leave prison alive. I don’t think he’ll be able to stand it. Even if he got out with good behavior in 10, 12 years, he won’t live that long. What’s really eating him up is people like me who are getting so much attention instead of him. He doesn’t get any of the money that’s coming out. He doesn’t get any of the accolades or the opportunities. He doesn’t get anything. Except three meals a day.”
Wow! Tell us how you really feel, Rick… Jeez!!!
And just to drop it in to seal up the wound, Kirkham delivered one final blow to Exotic’s reputation, noting how the tiger trainer was apparently “terrified” of big cats in real life and did it all just to put on a show that is now the number one hit in America:
“It’s idiotic to think how he’s become famous as the ‘Tiger King’ when he’s so terrified of big cats.”
The truth just keeps coming out… or something?!
Whatever it is, it’s a TON of drama… and we’re living for it!!
Related: Jeff Lowe Spills ALL The Dirt About ‘Tiger King’ And Joe Exotic!!!
What did y’all think of the after-show, Perezcious readers?! Not quite a traditional reunion show as it were, but did it deliver for you?? Do you want MORE Tiger King?!
Sound OFF with all of your comments down below!!!
[Image via YouTube]
Related Posts
