Entertainment
Tiger King star Joe Exotic reveals he has prostate cancer as he begs to be freed from prison: ‘My body is tired’
Joe Exotic has revealed he has prostate cancer, as he begged to be freed from prison for treatment.
The former zoo owner – who was the focus of Netflix’s Tiger King – is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence for the plot to kill rival Carole Baskin, as well as a string of animal abuse charges.
Taking to Twitter, he shared a string of messages opening up about his symptoms, while asking for fans to help lawyer John Phillips get the attention of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
‘John Phillips has received my medical records from FMC Fort Worth and my PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer,’ he began.
‘The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in. My body is tired, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat.
‘I don’t want anyone’s pity, what I need is when John Phillips gets the evidence he is working on, I need the world to help him get President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General to listen to the evidence and see that it’s not just city cops out of control with corruption, but his very own Department of Justice and make this right and sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food.
‘Thank you for all the love and support from all over the world. I love you all. Wish me luck…#JusticeForJoeExotic #TigerKing #JoeExotic @JohnPhillips.’
Exotic – real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage – was sentenced to 22 years behind bars in January 2019, after being found guilty of two counts of hiring someone to murder his rival, Baskin, on eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records, and on nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act by killing five tigers and for selling tigers across state lines.
While he is currently due for release in 2037, he previously sought clemency from former president Donald Trump, but his appeals were ignored.
Last month, Exotic issued another plea to be let out of prison, claiming that he is the victim of ‘conspiracy’.
In audio obtained by The Sun and reported to be of the Netflix star in a speech for the Social Media Superstar Awards (SMSA), he slammed his conviction and insisted it was something only President Joe Biden can make right, asking the leader to ‘sign every pardon on his desk’.
He was heard saying: ‘What has been done to me puts a black cloud over our entire justice system in America and our leaders of this great country should be ashamed that our own Department of Justice can take part in kidnapping me for a political agenda to only end big cats in America.
‘I intend to use my new platform to speak for justice and prison reform and speak for the thousands of men and women in this country who have been wrongfully convicted or over sentenced in this country for simply no reason other than for profit.’
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