Joe Exotic has laid out his views on such hot-button topics as abortion rights, gun ownership and LGBTQ+ rights as he presses on with his presidential campaign.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado, announced his campaign on social media in 2023. The TV personality is serving a 21-year prison sentence following his conviction in 2019 on multiple charges, including two counts of hiring hit men to murder his Tiger King co-star, wildlife activist Carole Baskin. He was also convicted of killing tigers and selling them across state lines.
In an email exchange, Exotic told Newsweek from FMC Fort Worth prison in Texas about the challenges of campaigning from behind bars as he also shared his stance on a number of issues that have dominated the political landscape.
With LGBTQ+ rights having been a major component in culture wars among Americans over the past year, Texas-raised Exotic shared that while he is openly gay himself, he doesn’t believe that people should “force it in anyone’s face.”
“As a gay man I don’t agree with everything that the LGBTQ+ community is doing,” Exotic, who shot to fame in 2020 on Netflix docuseries Tiger King, wrote. “It’s like how to unite the Democrats and Republicans, there is a middle ground to everything.”
Newsweek illustration. Joe Exotic, who is serving a 21-year prison sentence, has spoken with Newsweek about his presidential campaign.
Newsweek illustration. Joe Exotic, who is serving a 21-year prison sentence, has spoken with Newsweek about his presidential campaign.
Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty
Exotic, who originally announced that he would run for president as a Libertarian before switching to the Democratic Party weeks later, then shared his views on abortion rights and the Second Amendment.
“You can have pro-choice and have the right to [bear] arms, but I am not going to let you have [three] abortions because you are lazy or a slob and can’t put on a condom. Just like I am not going to let you have a machine gun, but I will go along with one abortion as a mistake and let you have a handgun or rifle.”
Turning his issue back to LGBTQ+ people, Exotic said that if “you want to be transgender then pay for the surgery, the government is not going to. And you can sleep with who you want but don’t force it in anyone’s face.”
He continued: “The pride parades with people in G-strings and such is not OK with me while little kids are in the crowd. Put some clothes on and be proud of who you are allowed to love and marry—not how naked you can be in public.”
“My motto is: Do you…. Be you…. Love you… Respect you… Respect others,” Exotic concluded.
As LGBTQ+ Pride Month approaches in June, Exotic last week shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he shared similar words regarding Pride parades.
Show some respect and dignity for our community and don’t show up in thongs and g-strings. pic.twitter.com/qlUbLOWjo8
The post, which bore the title “June Pride Parades,” read: “Be proud, be respectful, be dressed. Little kids will be in the crowd.”
Captioning the post, which included the hashtag “#FreeJoeExotic,” Exotic wrote: “Show some respect and dignity for our community and don’t show up in thongs and g-strings.”
On announcing his candidacy in 2023, Exotic said in a statement: “I am here because I have a world platform to make these politicians listen to your and my concerns and give us some answers for once because all they do is lie to all of us, take our hard earned money calling it taxes, and give it away to foreign countries without them giving us anything back.”
Running his campaign from behind bars has been far from smooth. Earlier in May, a Federal Election Commission (FEC) termination report was uncovered and reports began to circulate that Exotic’s campaign had been quietly suspended. Exotic responded by telling Newsweek via a voice message that his campaign was “far from over.” He also blamed his team for the FEC submission.
“I’m not giving up,” he said. “Right now I’m the ‘no’ vote, and the ‘no’ vote is pretty strong because people are sick of politics right now.”
Exotic previously said the “no” vote meant his candidacy provided an alternative to not voting. With Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden expected to face off at the polls this November, Exotic told Newsweek that he sees himself as a viable alternative.
“I am more real than either of them,” Exotic said of Trump and Biden, both of whom he has asked for presidential pardons. “Trump never knows when to shut up and Biden can’t tell the truth to save his life. Neither one of them knows exactly what the average American person goes through out here to just get by and pay bills.”
He added: “People like Trump and Biden will always look out for their own first and that is why hundreds of millions donated to a campaign should be illegal because when in office they look out for their donors’ best interest first. That’s why I don’t want to take people’s money. If I can’t do this on my word, I don’t want the job.”
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
