Jacko's bizarre connection to Tiger King

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

April 3, 2020 at 15:50

Michael Jackson pictured in 2005. Picture: AP Photo.Source:AP

Hit Netflix series Tiger King has shed new light on Joe Exotic’s unlikely connection to none other than Michael Jackson.

The popularity of the hit Netflix documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has shed new light on its subject, Joseph Maldonado-Passage – better known as Joe Exotic – and his reported connection to late singer Michael Jackson.

Those who have seen the seven-part series know that in 2015 a fire at Joe Exotic’s Oklahoma zoo took out not only his recording studio but a nearby facility that housed multiple alligators, all of which died in the blaze. The fire was suspected to be an arson attack, but no one was charged.

What the documentary doesn’t cover is the fact that the animals that died are believed to have been previously owned by Jackson on his Neverland Ranch.

The alligators that died in the inferno were taken from Jackson’s ranch, Neverland. Picture: AFP. — The alligators that died in the inferno were
taken from Jackson’s ranch, Neverland.
Picture: AFP.Source:AFP

Joe Exotic in a scene from the wildly popular true crime series. Picture: Netflix. — Joe Exotic in a scene from the wildly popular
true crime series.
Picture: Netflix.Source:News Regional Media

“As most of you know, an arsonist hit our facility a day before yesterday in the sometime wee hours and set fire to not only my recording studio but the studio that houses our alligators, which caused them all to burn up and perish, boiling alive in a towering inferno of nothing but flames and fire,” Joe said in a JoeExoticTV YouTube video, published on March 28, 2015.

At the time of the fire, Joe told the Los Angeles Times that seven of the alligators and a crocodile that died in the fire were taken from Neverland following its closure.

The front gate at Neverland Ranch, pictured after Jackson’s death in 2009. Picture: Getty Images. — The front gate at Neverland Ranch, pictured after Jackson’s death in 2009.
Picture: Getty Images.Source:Getty Images

New York Magazine also reported in September 2019 that baby alligators killed in the fire were the offspring of an alligator that lived with Jackson at Neverland.

Representatives for Jackson’s estate did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

The documentary sees those involved with Joe’s story posit several theories as to who started the fire, with some even believing that Joe started it himself in an effort to destroy potentially damaging footage that was being housed in the recording studio for a potential reality show that was being filmed.

Joe has denied those rumours.

Joe Exotic was convicted in an unsuccessful murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue. Picture: Santa Rosa County Jail via AP. — Joe Exotic was convicted in an unsuccessful murder-for-hire plot
against Carole Baskin, the founder of Big Cat Rescue. Picture: Santa Rosa County Jail via AP.Source:AP

Joe is currently behind bars after being found guilty of hatching a murder-for-hire plot in which he paid $US3000 for one of the employees at the zoo to travel to Florida to kill his rival, Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin.

This article originally appeared on Fox News, and has been reproduced here with permission.