There’s nothing quite like Netflix’s hit documentary Tiger King – it’s got a gay, gun-loving tiger breeder from Oklahoma, a cult leader with multiple wives, and the craziest cat lady that every lived.
And guys, that’s just the beginning.
If you’re obsessed with the show, just getting into it, or preparing to dive in, there’s no denying that Joe Exotic’s story gets crazier by the minute. Every minute. For seven episodes.
So when we say these wild facts are worthy of the show, that should give you some idea what’s coming.
14. The TV studio wasn’t the only thing that caught fire.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Xm2aJDkcP/
Producer Rick Kirkham’s Texas home also burned down, about six months afterward.
13. Joe Exotic neither wrote nor performed his own country music songs.
He did sing quietly over a few of the tracks, which in his mind, probably means they’re his.
12. Rick Kirkham was a dancer on American Bandstand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YBj1BJFNO/
Yes, that one, with Dick Clark. He was 16.
11. Before his current career (?), Joe was a Chief of Police in Texas.
It was a rather small town, and he was only 19. But he’s also kind of the Chief of Police now, it seems to me.
10. At least one of the directors has spoken out about what she really saw.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-X7tNTDuRG/
Rebecca Chaiklin has said that most of the tigers “were subjected to abject cruelty.”
9. Joe was married to two men on the show, but he’d been married before, too.
No word on how many times, but we know that one of his exes, JC Hartpence, served time in prison for molesting a young girl, and is now serving a life sentence for murder.
8. Jeff Lowe is allegedly trying to open the park in a new location.
https://www.instagram.com/p/vqx3ryFinO/?utm_source=ig_embed
Reports say he’s trying to get money from Shaquille O’Neal to make it happen.
7. Joe’s current legal entanglements may be up for debate, but he’s been arrested in the past.
He was transporting a bunch of emus, and when they escaped, he shot them.
6. Carole’s Big Cat Rescue is still going strong.
In fact, they’re trying to tempt Kim Kardashian West for a visit.
5. Another of Joe’s husbands (now an ex), is engaged to a woman.
John Finlay left Joe for a woman on the show, but his fiancee is someone different.
4. Bhagavan “Doc” Antle isn’t his real name.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7lPuP8nYJj/
You’re shocked, I know – at school, people called him Kevin.
3. You can see many of Joe Exotic’s cats in an Oklahoma museum.
Their bones, anyway – they reside in the skeleton museum.
2. The tigers often dined on horse meat.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-X91CcD-Wq/
The horses were donated to Joe Exotic alive, and he shot them himself to feed his cats.
1. One of the show’s directors is kind of a big deal.
Eric Goode owns several bars, one of which was regularly mentioned in the original Sex and the City columns.
I’m not finished with this show, y’all, but I cannot stop thinking about it. So I’m definitely going to finish it, but I’m also definitely going to regret it in the end.
Have you watched the show? What did you think of our facts? Tell us – and give us all of your theories – in the comments!
