Joe Exotic, the colourful private zoo owner at the centre of the insane Netflix documentary Tiger King, has reportedly been placed in isolation in a prison medical centre, after fellow inmates tested positive for COVID-19.
The big cat handler, full name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year sentence for crimes including 17 federal charges of animal abuse, and two counts of murder for hire, over a plot to kill Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin.
His husband Dillon Passage, age 22, recently appeared on Andy Cohen‘s Sirius XM show to discuss their relationship, and confirmed that he had been moved to a new facility. He told the host:
“We speak, like, three to five times every day, but since he’s been moved to this new facility, they are putting him on COVID-19 isolation because of the previous jail he was at, there were cases. So I have yet to speak to him since he’s been moved.”
When asked if Joe had been placed under quarantine, Passage replied: “From what I know, yes.” He promised he would stick by his husband’s side, saying: “He’s been there for me through my darkest times. I’m not just gonna dip out and abandon him when he needs me most.”
Overnight, there were some reports that Joe Exotic had actually contracted COVID-19. These remain unconfirmed, however, the New York Post recently reported that he has been transferred from Grady County Jail in Oklahoma to the Federal Medical Centre in Texas.
In March, the former zookeeper filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that he was imprisoned on false and perjured testimony.
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