Did Trump not pardon Joe Exotic because of his husbands?

Tiger King breakout star Joe Exotic had high hopes the days before Trump left office that he would be released from prison, but were his past husbands a reason why the celeb wasn’t included on Trump’s list of pardons & commutations? Trump’s conservative followers are notoriously known to be homophobic, so it’s no surprise Joe Exotic certainly believes his sexuality played a big part in Trump’s decision. 

I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump. I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post. Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first. pic.twitter.com/ysGfwnqlHi

— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) January 20, 2021

Twitter beef

Joe Exotic was angered Wednesday when he found out Donald Trump had no plans to pardon the star from prison and strongly believed the snub had to do with his husbands and lifestyle choices. On the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Tiger King star took to Twitter to attack the then-President for his choice to not include him on the final list of pardons. 

The celeb wrote to his fans: “I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a Pardon from Trump. I only mattered to Don Jr. when he needed to make a comment about me to boost his social media post. Boy were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for Equal Justice? His corrupt friends all come first”. Included with the caption was an old photo of Joe Exotic with one of the tigers he used to own. 

Los Angeles Times even reported that Joe Exotic was so sure he would be pardoned by Donald Trump in his last days of office that there was even a limousine parked near the Fort Worth prison the star was staying at, that planned to send him away to medical evaluation as soon as he was released. However, the star, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, has since denied he was the one to order the limo. 

For the record, all I ever asked for was the truth and evidence to be told in my defense. All the big stuff limos, jets and busses was not my idea nor did I rent them. Now can we please concentrate on exposing the corruption and what they really did to me was wrong… pic.twitter.com/9xdzjHIglP

— Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) January 21, 2021

On Thursday, Exotic clarified: “For the record, all I ever asked for was the truth and evidence to be told in my defense. All the big stuff limos, jets and busses was not my idea nor did I rent them. Now can we please concentrate on exposing the corruption and what they really did to me was wrong”. He added: “The inmates here at FMC are also very disappointed I didn’t get this pardon because they all say I don’t belong in here”.

Trump’s pardons

Accusations of homophobia are obviously very serious and not something to be taken lightly, so are Joe Exotic’s claims against Trump valid? Belaaz reported that Trump’s lists of pardons included many people, and on Tuesday, the number of pardons grew from 100 to 150. With all those people pardoned, was the reason why Joe Exotic wasn’t included on the list really because of his husbands & sexuality?  

If you need a little Tiger King refresher, the Netflix documentary detailed Joe Exotic’s proud homosexual lifestyle and introduced a few of his lovers he worked with in the show. Joe Exotic is currently married to Dillon Passage and has had a total of five husbands from the past. 

If anything, Joe Exotic was right when he stated in his tweet that Trump’s friends came first. A few people included on the then-President’s list included political allies such as former campaign & White House advisor Stephen K. Bannon, Republican congressmen Randy Cunningham of California & Rick Renzi of Arizona, and his political advisors Paul Manafort & Roger Stone who were convicted in the Russia investigation. 

Jared Kushner’s father as well as three other former Republican congressmen were also included on Trump’s list of pardons & commutations before he left office. Some other public figures included rapper Lil Wayne, who had publicly endorsed Trump in the last days of his campaign, as well as commuted rapper Kodak Black’s sentence.