Joe Exotic Says He’s Struggling ‘Everyday to Hold on’ in Prison
Written by SOURCE on June 9, 2020
In a letter from June 1 obtained by TMZ, Tiger King star Joe Exotic addressed his “supporters, fans, and loved ones” by giving them an update that addressed the following topics: how miserable he is in prison, how he feels he’s been abandoned by his husband Dillon, and how he feels about those who have profited off their fame from the success of the viral Netflix hit.
He also reiterated his pie in the sky hopes that he be freed via a presidential pardon, and claimed that he’ll be dead in two-to-three months due to an immune deficiency that he was born with going untreated.
“My soul is dead, I struggle everyday to hold on to what little hope I can find[.] They keep me locked down 24/7 with no phone, email, or commissary, and you will never understand the mental abuse this does to a person,” he wrote.
From there he goes on to ask that people stop sending him pictures/updates about his husband because he feels that he’s been abandoned by him (more on that in a sec), and that seeing his partner’s joy is torturous.
Touching on the subject of people profiting off him, he seems to suggest that some have been using his name to make money off of scams because no charity raised for him has been put towards lawyers. As Joe claims, up until a few weeks ago his legal team consisted of public defenders, and the lawyers now working for him are representing him for free.
From that point he makes his first of two references to George Floyd‘s death, by stating that “the country has come apart over bad cops and crooked justice.” His implication is that he too has suffered an injustice due to a busted legal system.
He says that he’s essentially been sentenced to death due to a lack of treatment for his aforementioned medical condition CVID (not to be confused with COVID-19).
“I’ll be dead in 2-3 months,” he wrote. “It’s like I have been sentenced to death row. They stopped all of my medication except one. This place is hell on earth.”
As is a constant theme throughout the write-up, he then laments the lack of communication he’s received from his husband (still more on that below).
Finally he airs a grievance with people featured in the docu-series who have done well (at least, comparatively) while he’s been incarcerated.
“We are all riding the white horse of fame at my expense again,” he wrote. “Anyone doing films, signing contracts with any of these people should be ashamed of yourselves.”
He wrapped things up with pleas to Kim Kardashian and Cardi B, in which he told them that “I’ve done nothing wrong but act a fool to protect my zoo from arson and people hurting my animals.”
If you want, you can read the entire letter here.
Now, in response to that rundown, Joe Exotic’s husband (Dillon Passage) made an Instagram post in which he claimed he’s still standing by his man.
“My heart is breaking after reading Joe’s letter 💔 He is living in hell right now and I’m outraged by the way he is being treated,” Passage said in his caption. “I can’t even begin to imagine how that is breaking his spirit. I love Joe and I’m standing by him. The photos that I post on here are a highlight reel of my life… What you don’t see are the hours that I’m alone at home, missing my husband and my friend.”
He further claims that he’s “been writing letters,” but that Exotic just hasn’t received them due to perceived meddling by prison officials. It’s unclear how an Instagram post will change that.
Read that whole post below:
