Well, folks, the Tiger King is back in the headlines, and this time, he’s making a deal: Pardon me, and I’ll take my circus elsewhere. Joe Exotic, the flamboyant former zoo owner turned Netflix sensation, has announced that if President Donald Trump grants him clemency, he’ll be packing up and heading straight to Mexico with his latest love interest—an illegal immigrant named Jorge Marquez.
Yes, you read that right. The same Joe Exotic who became a household name for his feud with big cat activist Carole Baskin—and who is currently serving a 21-year sentence for trying to have her taken out—is now offering to self-deport if Trump gives him a second chance.
The reality TV star turned federal inmate has made multiple pleas for a pardon, insisting he was framed and that new evidence proves his innocence. But now, he’s sweetening the deal by promising to save taxpayers the cost of both his incarceration and Marquez’s deportation. “It would save the taxpayers both ways,” Exotic wrote in a post on X.
You could deport him at some point, but if you let me go, we'll both go to Mexico, which will save you the cost of deporting him and allow you to take care of me. No matter what happens, he's my husband, and we'll never abandon each other.
This bond is that strong. pic.twitter.com/FYal90Tehz— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) March 18, 2025
Marquez, his latest romantic interest, is serving time for immigration-related offenses, and Exotic has vowed that they will leave the U.S. together if granted freedom. He’s even suggested marriage might be in the cards, though there’s no official confirmation of their legal status.
While Exotic’s antics are nothing new—his multiple marriages, prison relationships, and over-the-top media appearances have kept him in the spotlight—his latest stunt has some wondering whether he’s just desperate for attention or if he really thinks Trump is about to sign off on his freedom.
Exotic, who has been battling health issues in prison, claims he won’t live long enough to finish his sentence. “I’m not going to live to carry out this sentence. I would love to go home,” he told Newsweek in January.
But does “home” even mean the U.S. anymore? Exotic’s latest statements suggest that if America doesn’t want him, he’s more than happy to start over south of the border.
