'Tiger King': Dillon Passage eager to reunite with jailed husband Joe Exotic as it sucks not being able to touch him
Netflix's hit docu-series Tiger King's protagonist Joe Exotic's husband Dillon Passage has said that he is eager to reunite with him nearly two years after the wildcat enthusiast was arrested. Passage on April 10 said that he hopes to begin having conjugal visits with Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, within "the next month."
Exotic, 57, married 24-year-old Passage in December 2017.
Passage told Us Weekly that Exotic’s last facility did not permit conjugal visits. The 57-year-old was previously held in Grady County Jail in Chickasha, Oklahoma, before he was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison. He was later transferred to FMC Fort Worth in Texas.
“You know, I miss Joe and it sucks not being able to touch him,” Passage said. "But still being able to talk to him, you know, that’s really what has kept us going strong. That’s really all we can look forward to at this point. Other than the fact that he may get pardoned, and he may not, but really the main goal is to get his sentence lessened if he can’t get out of jail immediately."
Exotic received a 22-year prison sentence on multiple convictions, including 17 charges of animal abuse and two counts of murder for hire of a business rival. Exotic was convicted in 2019 for a plot to kill his adversary, Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin. Exotic and Baskin's feud centered around their differing opinions on what constitutes animal cruelty. Exotic, accused of animal abuse, denied Baskin's claims that his roadside zoo contributed to "an industry of misery".
Passage told the outlet that his last day with Exotic ended with him getting arrested unexpectedly. The 24-year-old, who also features in the seven-part Netflix series 'Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness', recalled, "So we woke up and we had breakfast. He played with the dogs for a little bit, and then he was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go to the hospital and, you know, put in this resume'."
"It was kind of early in the afternoon. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go to the gym.’ So, I’m at the gym and I get the call. And he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m in the back of a police car right now, a US Marshal.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, well that’s weird. You know, like, why?’ And he’s like, ‘They won’t tell me,'" he continued.
Passage, later that day, went to pick up Exotic’s truck and found out the details of his husband’s case. "I was completely mind-blown because I was not expecting anything like that,” he said.
The 24-year-old told the outlet that he personally never met Carole Baskin but believed that she would do anything to "piss Joe off" over the years. However, Passage also acknowledged that Baskin "could be a really nice person".
The Netflix docuseries has become a hit amidst the viewers, with even celebrities favoring Exotic's early release, with even President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., calling Exotic's prison sentence "aggressive."
Ever since his incarceration last year, Exotic began seeking a presidential pardon from President Trump. He has also filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the United State federal government.