Tiger King’s Jeff Lowe Talks Feuds And What’s Next For Joe Exotic’s Former Zoo

He also responds to the conspiracy theory he’s Carole Baskin’s missing first husband.

Jeff Lowe from Netflix's 'Tiger King' [Getty]

Jeff Lowe from Netflix's 'Tiger King' [Getty]

Jeff Lowe from Netflix's 'Tiger King' [Getty]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

Tiger King enthralled viewers with the wild life and times of controversial cat enthusiast Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic.

Jeff Lowe also made a splash on the Netflix docuseries, which showed how he assumed ownership of Maldonado-Passage’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park amid the fallout of the zookeeper’s legal battles with animal activist Carole Baskin. Lowe later became an informant to help law enforcement convict and send Maldonado-Passage to prison on a murder-for-hire plot charge.

On Apr. 16, Lowe entered the tiger cage to answer fans’ questions — and ignore detractors’ swipes — in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything).

Lowe’s interview kicked off with a question about the internet conspiracy theory that he’s actually Baskin’s first husband, the man she was with before marrying Don Lewis, who vanished without a trace in 1997.

“She is not my type,” Lowe responded, explaining, “If I was stuck on a deserted island with her, I would f*** a coconut.”

He then noted a side-by-side photo comparison of him and Baskin’s first spouse “looks more like John Finley and Joe Exotic’s love child.”

Asked how he got involved with making the Tiger King docuseries, Lowe claimed producers “framed it as an exposé on Carole Baskin.”

“And to Carole,” he added, “they said it was warning against the dangers of keeping tigers. They misrepresented the show to everyone.”

Lowe, however, said producers “were too easy” on Baskin and Big Cat Rescue. “Joe had file cabinets full with info on the disappearance of Don,” he wrote on Reddit. “All she does is she has big cats in cages, just like Joe.”

Joseph ("Joe Exotic") Maldonado answers a question during an interview at his zoo in Wynnewood, Okla, Aug. 2013 [Associated Press]

Joseph ("Joe Exotic") Maldonado answers a question during an interview at his zoo in Wynnewood, Okla, Aug. 2013 [Associated Press]

Lowe revealed how his relationship with Maldonado-Passage initially began to sour. “The turning point for me was when he was saying he was going to put down two tiger cubs before we returned [from Las Vegas], and I lost all respect for him,” he noted.

The docuseries famously showed Lowe using his cats to increase his popularity with the ladies, and one fan asked how he got “wrapped up in that world starting from scratch.”

Lowe claimed his grandfather owned a circus in the 1920s and ’30s that he sold to Ringling Bros. “I've had big cats in my DNA,” he said. “That's how I did it.”

Though the G.W. zoo is no longer in existence, Lowe said the new park he’s constructing in Oklahoma is slated to open this summer and “all the animals will go there.”

Craving more insight into Tiger King and its fascinating cast of characters?

ID has greenlit the definitive true crime series Investigating the Strange World of Joe Exotic that will feature the man himself and promises to do more than just scratch the surface of the former zookeeper’s life.

“ID is the perfect place to find the inevitable sequel to this drama — featuring a missing husband, a hit man, and the illegal business of exotic animals,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President ID, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America. “It's time to let the cat out of the bag and address the lingering questions that viewers demand be answered.”

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