The day was March 20, 2020. Reported cases of COVID-19 were surging, states were put on lockdown, sports leagues’ seasons were suspended — yet Netflix released their true-crime show “Tiger King” and saved us all from the boredom of quarantine. The show centers around Joe Exotic, the owner of an exotic animal zoo. The first season’s seven episodes introduce the audience into the dark underworld of big cat breeding, including Exotic’s feud with animal rights activist Carole Baskin that eventually lead him to plot her murder.
Maybe you did not watch “Tiger King,” but you certainly know about it. Maybe you heard about Exotic’s wild animal sanctuary or his multiple husbands. Maybe you heard about Baskin and her Big Cat Rescue — but you most likely heard her name because of the conspiracy theory claiming that she killed her husband. Or maybe all you know is that Exotic is in prison for animal abuse and a failed murder-for-hire targeted at Baskin.
“Tiger King” proved to be a cultural moment, as 34 million people in the United States watched it within 10 days of the show hitting Netflix. Many memes about the show circulated the internet. However, “Tiger King’s” moment in the spotlight was just that: a moment. If you are anything like me, you probably watched the whole show in a day or two, talked about it for a week and then stopped thinking about it. You were also probably confused to learn that Netflix released a second and third spinoff season.
The documentary’s lack of longevity is actually a feature of its appeal, not a detractor. During the pandemic, we didn’t need a serious, intellectually stimulating show that sparked lively debate for weeks or months. “Tiger King” is the junk food of television. We devoured it, felt great for a little while and then started to feel bad — both physically and emotionally — after we binged it. Let’s be honest, though. We all gained several pounds during the pandemic, and we all spent several hours watching “Tiger King.”
“Tiger King” even reached The White House when a reporter asked then-President Donald Trump if he would consider pardoning Exotic from his imprisonment. I do not know if this says more about the popularity of the show that it demanded to be asked about during a presidential press briefing or the absurdity of the former president for entertaining the idea during a global pandemic. Regardless, taking a moment to acknowledge just how ridiculous the conversation around “Tiger King” became feels important.
However, Trump did not pardon Exotic, who posted on social media that he was “too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump.” Perhaps that is what inspired Exotic’s 2024 presidential run — we might have had two presidential candidates who would pardon themselves upon election.
While “Tiger King” is wildly entertaining, the show, like all junk food, has its negative traits, calling into question the ethicality of some documentary filmmaking methods. Is it moral for everyone to spread the theory that Baskin killed her husband who had disappeared decades earlier? Probably not. Did we do it anyway? Absolutely.
Baskin said she felt betrayed by the series, as she was told that the story of her husband’s disappearance was just needed for context, not as the center of multiple episodes of the show. She also felt the documentary played on the sensational aspects of the story and neglected the issues of animal cruelty that lay at the center of it. However, I do not think the audience felt this same betrayal — I cannot imagine that many people expected activism from a show marketing “Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”
“Tiger King” will forever be remembered as a moment when the world could forget about the pain of the pandemic and throw themselves into something truly absurd. While the show’s moment ended and we were able to move on, the cast has to live with the show for the rest of their lives. Exotic even said the show ruined his life. I hope he can find solace in the fact that he is not the only 2024 presidential candidate in legal trouble.
