List of Tiger King subjects
The American true crime documentary streaming television miniseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness features a large cast of characters, with the majority of them being big cat enthusiasts. Netflix and viewers described the cast as eccentric.
Introduced in Season 1
Joe Exotic
Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage,, popularly known as Joe Exotic, is an American former zookeeper, convicted felon and the former owner and operator of Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. He claimed to be the most prolific breeder of tigers in the United States. He ran as a candidate for president of the United States as well as for governor of Oklahoma, but neither campaign managed to garner significant public support. Aside from his career as a zookeeper and his political runs, Exotic had several side-projects, including his country music, magic shows, a career in the police force, and a professional wrestling commentator.For over 20 years, Exotic was the owner and operator of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, known for its big cats. He operated an online reality television show that he streamed from his zoo. Over the years, he operated sideshows around the country, allowing people to pet tiger cubs. He also staged shows at fairs and in shopping malls. In 2019 he was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder-for-hire, for a plot to kill Carole Baskin, the chief executive officer of Big Cat Rescue, an animal rescue organization for exotic cats. Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison, though his sentence was later reduced to 17 years in July 2021.
Exotic is the main focus of Tiger King, with the documentary discussing his zookeeping career, political runs and feud with Baskin. As a result of the documentary, Exotic received significant amounts of attention on social media, inspiring several internet memes and gaining a fanbase. In prison, Exotic has been writing an autobiography.
Carole Baskin
Carole Baskin is an American animal rights activist and owner of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary based near Tampa, Florida. Baskin drew public attention for her role in Tiger King. The Netflix series follows both Baskin and Joe Exotic, filming their ongoing and escalating feuds over exotic animals in private zoos.She and Don Lewis founded Wildlife on Easy Street, an animal sanctuary near Tampa for big cats, in 1992. She is the current chief executive officer of the sanctuary, which she renamed to Big Cat Rescue sometime after Lewis's disappearance in 1997. She has used social media such as Facebook and YouTube and her "The Cat Chat" podcast to promote activism against private zoos.
Exotic engaged in a pattern of harassment against Baskin, including trademark infringement. In 2013, a court ordered him to pay Baskin $1 million in damages, leading to his bankruptcy. In 2020, he was convicted of attempting to hire a hitman to kill her.
Howard Baskin
Howard Gene Baskin is an American animal rights activist and the third husband of Carole Baskin. He and Carole met in November 2002 at a kick-off party for the newly formed No More Homeless Pets organization. He joined Big Cat Rescue soon after as chairman of the advisory board. He proposed to her in November 2003, and they married in November 2004.Doc Antle
Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle, better known as Doc Antle, is an American animal trainer and private zoo operator. He is the founder and director of The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Myrtle Beach Safari, a tour that runs through the facility. He is a self-described conservationist and is the executive director of a Rare Species Fund, although the extent to which this funds conservation projects has been disputed.Antle was fined by the USDA for abandoning deer and peacocks at his zoo in Buckingham, Virginia in 1989. In total, Antle has more than 35 USDA violations for mistreating animals. In late December 2019, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Horry County Police Department raided Doc Antle's Myrtle Beach Safari. Antle said the agencies came to collect DNA samples from three young lions that descended from Wilson's Wild Animal Park in Virginia which was closed down due to animal welfare issues.
In Tiger King, Antle's facility was described as a personality cult, and Exotic accused him of killing tigers in gas chambers to make space for further breeding. Antle has faced criticism from conservation organizations and animal rights groups for his treatment of animals, and was indicted on 15 charges related to wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty in 2020.
Rick Kirkham
Rick Kirkham is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a reporter for Inside Edition who appeared on a segment called "Inside Adventure". From the age of 14, he filmed more than 3,000 hours of a video diary; this included footage during his tenure on Inside Edition during which he was addicted to crack cocaine.As an interviewee in Tiger King, Kirkham did not receive royalties from the show, but allowed Goode and Chaiklin to use footage of Exotic he owned for a few thousand dollars. Kirkham is featured prominently throughout the documentary, remarking that he's "never experienced anything like Joe Exotic" and denying involvement in the 2015 G.W. Zoo fire. He also claimed that Travis Maldonado wasn't gay.
Jeff Lowe
Jeff Lowe is an American Las Vegas playboy and former zookeeper. He and his wife Lauren gained ownership of the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park for legal reasons. Following Exotic's retirement from the zoo in 2018 Lowe remained as the zoo's owner, renaming it "Tiger King Park", until mid-2020 when a court awarded ownership of the property to the Baskins, and Lowe's USDA exhibitor's license was suspended due to poor veterinary care. Rather than contesting the suspension, Lowe permanently shut down the park on August 18.Lauren Lowe
Lauren Lowe is an American former zookeeper who is Jeff's wife. She and her husband gained ownership of the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park for legal reasons. In mid-2020, Lowe and the other zookeepers had to leave the property when a court awarded ownership of it to the Baskins.John Reinke
John Reinke is an American former employee of the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park, working closely with Joe Exotic. Before his career as a zookeeper, Reinke worked as a bungee jumper. He lost his legs in an accident in April 1994, and worked at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park starting in 2006.Kelci "Saff" Saffery
Kelci "Saff" Saffery, better known as Saff, is an American veteran who served in both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and worked as a manager for the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park for almost ten years. In 2013, the then-27 year old was bitten by one of the tigers after he mistakenly put his arm into its cage. He opted to have his left forearm amputated and return to work within a week, instead of undergoing a two-year series of surgeries that might have saved his arm. He is hoping to get a prosthetic arm. In 2018, Saffery disconnected from the G.W. zoo and everyone involved.John Finlay
John "Gator" Finlay is a former employee at the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park, and was one of Exotic's partners. Finlay and Exotic were in a relationship for several years, but they never legally married. He became famous after Tiger King because of his missing teeth, which many viewers speculated was due to constant drug use. However, Finlay revealed that he has been sober and clean for over six years. Finlay eventually received new teeth implants in July 2019.Travis Maldonado
Travis Maldonado was an American employee at the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park and the second husband of Exotic. Maldonado arrived at the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park in late 2013. In Tiger King, Maldonado was shown getting upset over Exotic not meeting him somewhere, claiming beforehand that Exotic doesn't care about his problems or what he does at the zoo. Before meeting Exotic over punching the meat truck, Maldonado jokingly asked if he's "trying to make him blow his top."Under the influence of drugs, Maldonado would frequently point guns at other people at the park, including Exotic's campaign manager Joshua Dial, who told Maldonado to stop. Maldonado tried to convince Dial that the gun was a Ruger with no magazine in it, and that Rugers do not fire without a magazine. On October 6, 2017, Maldonado put the gun to his own head in front of Dial to prove his point, but the gun fired, despite not having a magazine in it, killing Maldonado when he pulled the trigger and traumatising Dial. Exotic told TM that his "entire soul died" afterwards, and told the press that Maldonado's death was an accident, thinking his gun would not go off without the magazine in it.
Dillon Passage
Dillon Passage is Exotic's third husband. Passage and Exotic married on December 11, 2017, two months after the death of Exotic's previous husband, Travis Maldonado. One of the witnesses of the wedding between Passage and Exotic was Maldonado's mother.In March 2021, Passage revealed on Instagram that he and Exotic are seeking a divorce, but remain on good terms and that he will continue to have Exotic in his life. The day after Passage announced that he and Exotic were divorcing, Exotic's lawyer Francisco Hernandez told Us Weekly that they planned to "stay married right now so things don't get complicated". In July 2021, Passage announced his relationship with another man; John. The divorce was finalized in March 2023.
Joshua Dial
Joshua Dial is an American who worked as Exotic's campaign manager during both his run for President of the United States and his run for Governor of Oklahoma. Before meeting Exotic, Dial was a Walmart manager who had recently graduated from the University of Science and Arts with a degree in political science. He was arrested in 2017 for aggravated assault and battery, after attacking another man with a sword.He became Exotic's campaign manager to gain experience for a potential future career in politics. For his run for Governor of Oklahoma, Exotic appointed Dial to run the entire campaign. On October 6, 2017, Dial witnessed the death of Travis Maldonado. Tiger King includes the CCTV footage of Dial sitting in an office talking to Maldonado and then looked severely distressed after witnessing Maldonado's accidental death. In Tiger King, Dial explained the situation to the viewers;
Dial resigned from Exotic's campaign in June 2018, and posted this statement to Facebook on the first anniversary of his decision to step down as Exotic's campaign manager;
After the success of Tiger King, Dial revealed that he has moved on from everything that happened at the G.W. Zoo, but still lives in Oklahoma and is engaged to be married. He retains his interest in politics, and has campaigned for gay rights.