Watch Tiger King Joe Exotic’s 5 Best (Okay, Worst) Country Videos
If you've watched Netflix's most-talked-about new docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, you already know that Joe Exotic — aka the Tiger King — considers himself a country artist, in addition to being a big cat expert.
He's a jack of all trades, really. In addition to his country music hobby, Exotic (born Joe Screibvogel) ran the G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and ran for president of the United States in 2016. The Netflix series documents his love of animals and his life, which is interesting, to say the least.
Spoiler alert: In January of 2020, Exotic was sentenced to 22 years in prison for two counts of attempted murder-for-hire, as well as eight counts of falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act, per Distractify. He is currently creating a stir on social media, from prison, while trying to appeal the verdict.
As for his country music career? He's steadily released original music on his YouTube channel, where you'll find eleven music videos in total. Almost all of them feature his out-of-this-world fashion choices, large collection of guns and his first love: big cats.
Throughout his country music career, Exotic utilized a team of audio and visual professionals to maximize the impact of his wild videos, and he also ran a livestream reality show online, Joe Exotic TV. Much of his work was featured there, too.
- 1
"I Saw a Tiger"
This may as well be the theme song for the Netflix series. If the lyrics about saving big cats and seeing a tiger for the first time don't speak to you, a music video that finds Exotic standing on top of a police car with his acoustic guitar and cowboy hat at hand certainly will.
- 2
"Here Kitty Kitty"
In the "Here Kitty Kitty" video, see Exotic donning a priest-like ensemble complete with a black cowboy hat. This song is about his arch enemy, Carole Baskin, whom Exotic believes killed her husband. The music video even uses a Baskin lookalike to act out the rumors that Baskin — another large cat lover — fed her husband's remains to her tigers.
- 3
"My First Love"
Exotic's "My First Love" was briefly featured in the Tiger King docuseries, and it left us wanting more. It's a "true love" country ballad, and the music video features Exotic and his former partner, John Finlay, frolicking in the snow and in his red pickup truck.
- 4
"Pretty Woman Lover"
"Pretty Woman Lover" wasn't featured in the Tiger King documentary, but it should have been. It has all of the offerings of a great country music video, too: Tattoos, motorcycles, and you guessed it, pretty women.
- 5
"Country Music (This Is My Life)"
This is perhaps Exotic's most heartfelt song out there, in which he thanks his fans (country fans? tiger fans?) for their support over the years. The music video shows a pensive Exotic sitting on a dock at a pond, singing to the camera.