'Uncategorically racist': 'The Tiger King' directors slam animal abuser Joe Exotic, call him 'inhumane and cruel'
The directors of Netflix's 'The Tiger King', Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin, have called Joe Exotic 'uncategorically racist' after a clip emerged of him ranting about not being allowed to use the n-word.
Joe, 57, was filmed talking in a clip that surfaced on the internet about how it was not fair that he was not allowed to use the racial slur while black rappers can use the insult in their songs.
The directors said that "they left his bigotry out of the show' because it was irrelevant". Chaiklin told The Hollywood Reporter: "Joe is a racist, I would say categorically. He said things when we were filming that were very unsettling."
When asked why the scenes did not make it to the documentary, she said: "They didn't have a context in the story, but he has a lot to learn. I think most of it was ignorance and not having a lot of exposure, and I think he even evolved over the course of the time that we filmed."
In the original video, titled 'Message to Donald Trump Day 29', he says, "I can't say the n-word? But you can get on Youtube and watch any black man's rap video and they're calling each other the n-word.What the hell? Is this discrimination? I'm white and I can't say the n-word and they can?"
Exotic continues his rampage, but with a focus on the Department Of Agriculture. In the 13-minute long video, Joe lashes out at various leaders and departments in American politics and society.
Goode added, "I would say it’s very important for people to know this, that there seems to be an overwhelming amount of empathy for [Joe's current husband] Dillon. We had empathy for Joe, but Joe did a lot of horrible things. Joe committed some really serious crimes and Joe was not only cruel and inhumane to his animals, he was cruel to the people around him. I think it’s very important for people to understand that Joe is an actor and he tells people what they want to hear. As much as we have some empathy for Joe and found Joe to be such an incredible character — this mullet-wearing country singer in Oklahoma — he did a lot of horrible things."
Joe, is currently serving 22 years for 17 counts of animal abuse and a murder-for-hire plot of his arch-nemesis Carole Baskin, a big-cat campaigner from Tampa, Florida. The Netflix documentary 'The Tiger King', is based on his life.
The series chronicles the unsettling tales of the society of big cat conservationists and collectors in America, and exploring the private zoos and sanctuaries they've set up for the animals.
There are some other unusual characters on the show that include a former cocaine drug lord running a secret conservation facility, Jeff Lowe, a swinger who brings tiger cubs into high-end hotels for parties and to attract women; Tim Stark, owner of the roadside zoo Wildlife in Need; and Bhagavan "Doc" Antle, an animal trainer who founded a 50-acre animal preserve in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and trains animals for Hollywood films.
Meanwhile, Exotic has tested positive for COVID 19. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Goode and Chaiklin said, "He's incarcerated and right now he's been put into isolation for Covid-19."