‘Joe Exotic was random and chaotic – I felt protective of him’
You first met Joe Exotic in 2011?
He came across as an extraordinary figure – a made-for-TV character. His mullet, his body piercings, being gay and living in an extremely conservative part of Oklahoma. And obviously the fact that he had 150 tigers…
Did you like him?
He’s so colourful and funny.
He’s charismatic, vulnerable, emotional, and liable to cry easily. It tends to make you feel quite protective of him. I didn’t get the feeling he was hiding anything – although I was wrong, because he certainly was.
What was his park like?
It was a cross between a zoological facility and a carnival – there’s definitely a certain type of person drawn to keeping exotic animals. And Joe would rant about Carole Baskin, I knew that he wished her ill. But I had absolutely no sense that it would turn into a federal case where he’d end up doing 22 years, so that was very much unexpected! You interview Carole Baskin in this new documentary…
I hadn’t spoken to Carole in 2011, but I’d heard that she felt we’d done a good job with the first documentary, and although she was never physically harmed, Carole was a victim and target. Since filming Tiger King she’s been extensively trolled. We filmed with her around the time she was taking possession of G.W. Zoo and the park was in disarray, filled with rubbish and excrement, with bones and graffiti everywhere – all directed at Carole and really very unpleasant.
Some of Joe’s family speak out about him for the first time… They viewed him as greedy. I was surprised by how much financial malpractice was going on – they all said he would solicit funds for sponsoring animals, but that the animals would be dead or moved to another facility, so the money would then be spent on fourwheelers and other toys. The park always seemed financially precarious, but it appears that it would have been financially healthy if the money made had been used to run it – or at least that’s what his family told me. They said Joe was always desperate to be famous, but that didn’t come as a surprise.
Do you have any funny memories of filming with him?
He would come out with so many unexpected things. I remember walking through the park, and he was doing something to make a lion or a tiger roar. I said, “Is it good to do that?” and he turned to me and deadpanned, “No, we don’t encourage it” – having just done it! He has a very random, chaotic nature.
Tiger King made him a star...
It’s an extraordinary situation. Joe is now one of the most famous people in the world, arguably. He’s an Internet icon. Carole is also extremely famous. I think that’s testament to the series and also lockdown and the collective madness of that period of time. But it’s a mixed blessing because there’s a tendency to see them as fictional characters, almost – whereas they are real people involved in a real crime. What I’ve tried to do with this new documentary is to present versions of people that are a bit less caricature-ish. Because people aren’t always helpful, caring or nice.