'Tiger King' Joe Exotic cashed in on book and toy deals but still owes Carole Baskin: presidential docs
“Tiger King”-star-turned-presidential-candidate Joe Exotic is earning income in creative ways while in prison — despite facing a hefty liability from his big cat rescue foe Carole Baskin, according to a new federal financial disclosure filing.
Exotic — real name Joseph Maldonado — reported just one liability on his disclosure report, a requirement for all presidential candidates: a “$814,465 judgment from “Big Cat Rescue (Carole Baskin).”
Maldonado is in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, serving a 21-year sentence for two counts of murder-for-hire related to alleged plans to kill Baskin, along with 17 other crimes, including violations of a law prohibiting illegal wildlife trading.
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Baskin and Maldonado’s animosity toward each other as rivals in the big cat rescue industry was the center of the Netflix documentary, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” that was a cultural touchpoint in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite serving a lengthy prison sentence, Maldonado is bringing in some income from diverse sources, ranging from a book advance to toy payments and music royalties.
The average hourly prison wage is 52 cents per hour, The Marshall Project reported.
Maldonado reported a $35,000 advance from Simon & Schuster for a book payment, a $5,000 advance from a contract with Wilder Toys and $2,000 payment for an NFT promotion from a contract with E&J Holdings.
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Plus, he’s earned $11,197 in royalties from SoSouth Music Publishing, $3,150 in podcast and interview stipends and $1,017 from Facebook views, according to the filing.
Maldonado is running for president as an ultra-long-shot Democratic candidate against President Joe Biden, environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and author Marianne Williamson — a field that’s a fraction of the size of the Republican race, which former President Donald Trump leads despite his own legal issues.
Maldonado’s campaign, Joseph Maldonado to Free America, reported raising $10,294.10 with $1,764.49 cash on hand as of June 30, after spending most of the funds on campaign merchandise, according to the Maldonado campaign’s most recent financial filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Maldonado's press secretary, Michael Robison, was not immediately available for comment.
