Joe Exotic: podcast appearances and interviews

Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, known professionally as Joe Exotic, is an American media personality and businessman. He operated the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, from 1999 to 2018. Born in Kansas, Maldonado moved with his family to Texas where he dropped out of Pilot Point High School. After graduation, he briefly served as the chief of police in Eastvale. Following his brother's death in 1997, he sold a pet store he had opened with his brother and founded the G. W. Zoo. During his tenure as director of the zoo, Maldonado also hosted magic shows and cub-petting events across the United States, and he worked with producer Rick Kirkham to create a reality television series about himself, although most footage was destroyed in a fire in 2015. He also hosted an online talk show and gained wider recognition in 2016 when he ran as an independent candidate in the presidential election, garnering attention for his eccentric persona and unconventional campaign style. Maldonado left the G. W. Zoo in June 2018 and three months later was arrested on suspicion of hiring two men to murder animal rights advocate Carole Baskin, with whom he had a notable rivalry. In 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to 22 years for 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire. After filing a motion for a new trial in 2021, his sentence was reduced to 21 years in 2022. Maldonado has been featured in several documentaries, including the Netflix series Tiger King, which chronicled his career and his feud with Baskin. Despite substantial criticism over animal treatment and other controversies, he has also announced a run for the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat.