By ETonline Staff
12:22 PM PDT, September 2, 2020
When the big cat enthusiast-turned-zoo owner-turned-magician-turned-country singer-turned-presidential candidate-turned-gubernatorial hopeful-turned-inmate isn't even the most colorful character in your cast of colorful characters, you know you have one helluva television series on your hands.
Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness centers on Joe Exotic and animal rights activist Carole Baskin, but also introduces a polyamorous Svengali, an in-over-his-head reality TV producer and a Libertarian agent of chaos, among so many more. But what became of everyone after cameras stopped rolling?
Joe Exotic
Joe Maldonado-Passage began serving his 22-year prison sentence for murder-for-hire (among other charges) at Grady County Jail in Oklahoma -- where from he filed a $94 million lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Federal Wildlife Service and Jeff Lowe.
In March, he was transferred to a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, ET has learned, and due to concerns surrounding the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak, was quarantined as a safety precaution upon his arrival, standard procedure for all inmates checking into any prison amid the pandemic time.
Carole Baskin
She still runs Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, and posts daily videos on her YouTube channel. (Which, unfortunately, no longer begin with "Hey all you cool cats and kittens...") Both she and husband Howard Baskin spoke out against the docuseries and reiterated that Carole did not feed her late ex-husband to a tiger. In June 2020, her Big Cat Rescue Corp. was granted ownership and control of Joe Exotic's former zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, as part of a trademark judgment against Exotic, according to multiple reports. She was announced as a contestant on season 29 of Dancing With the Stars in September 2020.
Jeff Lowe
Joe Exotic's one-time business partner ultimately assumed control of Greater Wynnewood Zoo, which he has plans to relocate behind a casino, rebrand as the Oklahoma Zoo and open during summer 2020. Lowe and his wife, Lauren, recently hired a new "#HotNanny."
"Doc" Antle
Despite the allegations made against him, Mahamayavi Bhagavan Antle is running The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.), which remained open for business amid the coronavirus pandemic. The staff released a statement saying it was "disappointed" by Tiger King and the "less-than-flattering mistruths" about their lifestyle choices.
John Finlay
Joe Exotic's second husband (though Finlay asserts they were never legally married) still lives in Oklahoma with his fiancé, Stormey Sanders, but has not been to G.W. Zoo in years and no longer keeps in touch with any of the staff. He is now six years sober and has new teeth.
Dillon Passage
Joe Exotic's fourth and final (as of now) husband resides in Florida, with the couple once fake living in Belize after fleeing G.W. Zoo. Passage and Joe are still married. "I don't care for the spotlight," the Texas native said on Instagram. "And frankly, I don't really care what people think about me or my life."
John "Rink" Reinke
The former zookeeper has now taken his skills to an auto repair shop in Texas, where he is originally from.
Kelci "Saff" Safferty
Preferring to go by Saff, not Kelci, this zookeeper -- who, you'll remember, got his arm taken off by a tiger -- left the park in 2018 in the wake of Joe's departure. Saff told Oxygen.com that he doesn't associate with anyone he once knew at G.W. Zoo and that he "chose to leave the park and everyone involved behind me."
Erik Cowie
Cowie, one of Joe's most trusted zookeepers, now works at a restaurant in Oklahoma.
Rick Kirkham
The filmmaker and would-be reality show producer now lives in Bodø, Norway, with his wife, Kristin, and their dogs. Kirkham says he is currently deciding on what his next project will be and of the interest in his personal life following the docuseries, exclaims, "Seriously, people?!"
Joshua Dial
The Walmart employee-turned-campaign manager lives in Oklahoma with his fiancé, Jackie. "I did this documentary for three reasons," he wrote on Facebook. "The truth about Travis’ death, the truth about Joe's true political allegiance, and most important the tigers." He is no longer working in politics.