Joe Exotic claimed he would help Carole Baskin end big cat handling if she helped him get a reduced prison sentence.
Joe Exotic, known formally as Joseph Maldonado-Passage, told Entertainment Tonight that he was accepting Baskin’s offer for help during an interview published Tuesday.
Joe Exotic has responded to the comments from Carole Baskin and her husband claiming they would support his early release from prison. https://t.co/JBY9UxqxVD
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 21, 2021
“It is time for Carole and Howard to put up or shut the hell up because I’m accepting their offer,” Joe Exotic told the outlet. “And I’m gonna take it one step further than that, OK?” (RELATED: Zoo Featured In ‘Tiger King’ Searched By Police After Human Remains Believed To Be On Property)
“It is time to get on the phone to President Biden or whoever they need to that they’ve got in their little financial pocket and say, ‘Hey, Joe is willing to support a big cat bill to help protect cats in America from being exploited. But we need to keep our end of the deal and get Joe a pardon because this wasn’t really about murder for hire or shooting five tigers — this was about exploiting Joe to support Carole’s agenda.’ So, there’s the offer on the table, all right?” he continued.
Baskin claimed she would only seek a reduced sentence for Joe Exotic if he actually helped her end cub handling, Entertainment Tonight reported.
“I wouldn’t seek a reduced sentence for Joe based upon him just saying he’d help end cub handling,” Baskin told Entertainment Tonight in response to Joe Exotic’s comments. “I think he’d say anything, but not actually do it. He’d have to actually work with authorities to bring all of his buddies to justice and work with legislators to end cub handling. Then, I’d want him to be rewarded for having done the right thing.”
Joe Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison after being accused of hiring someone to murder Baskin. He has served two and a half years of that sentence and has been looking for a presidential pardon.