Joe Exotic denies having sex with farm animals at the road zoo he had more than two decades ago.
And now, from prison, former business spouse Jeff Lowe pays to say in interviews what he did.
His lawyer accused Lowe of making false statements to the media in an effort to “stay relevant” after the hit Netflix documentary series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. “
The statements exposed Joe Exotic to “public hatred, contempt, ridicule, and shame,” his lawyer said in a case in Garvin County District Court.
The new twist on the dispute between the two comes when Exotic Wildlife Park Greater Wynnewood has closed forever.
Lowe, who took office in 2016, announced the closing week in a long Facebook post that has since been removed.
“The Tiger King phenomenon has replaced our lives in many ways,” Lowe wrote.
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“We were given more attention than any human being, intelligent or bad deserves. It has made us, and will most likely remain the target of each and every animal rights junkie in the world, but we are ready. “
It has also provided us with an unstoppable source of income, a source of income that will ensure the long-term care of our animals and allow us to be very selective for the future. As of today, we have to close the old zoo with quick effect. “
Lowe made the announcement after the U. S. Department of Agriculture suspended its exhibitor’s license for 21 days and accused the federal firm of giving in to pressure from people for the moral remedy of animals.
He wrote in the message that he had already notified the firm that he was wasting his exhibitor’s license.
He also revealed that, after all, a new zoo near Thackerville in southern Oklahoma will be open to the public in September.
“Rest assured that all animals will continue to receive proper care and will no longer be the subject of USDA inspectors or PETA spies,” he wrote. “Our new park will, at least for the foreseeable future, be a personal movie set for Tiger King-related television content for cable and broadcast services.
Wynnewood Zoo is scheduled to close next month anyway.
On June 1, a federal ruling gave Lowe 120 days to remove the animals, so that the goods could be delivered to Florida Sanctuary owner Carole Baskin.
Joe Exotic, a genuine Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving a 22-year sentence in a federal criminal for attempting to kill Baskin and other crimes.
He already filed charges against Lowe in a federal lawsuit he filed in March, and also sued the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. U. S. , his chief prosecutor, a federal agent, and others he blamed for his arrest and conviction.
He will file more claims against Lowe in a tax case in Garvin County District Court.
These accusations are accompanied by defamation, invasion of privacy, unfair enrichment and breach of contract.
In the claim of unjust enrichment, he accuses Lowe of a fake asset deal to earn money illegally at his expense because of his resemblance and the “Tiger King” brand.
The tax case began in June when the Oklahoma Tax Commission issued a ruling that Lowe and Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park owed the state $50,274 in notable sales taxes.
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Lowe’s Tax Commission and lawyers objected to Joe Exotic intervening in his case and said the matter was almost settled.
“Maldonado-Passage seems to intend to turn this tax dispute into a television truth circus by injecting his lecivious and spurous pleas into a trivial case totally independent of the Oklahoma Tax Commission,” they told the judge.
Joe Exotic can still file claims in a separate lawsuit if he is allowed to have a say in the case of taxes.
“We’ll cross this bridge when we get there,” said Oklahoma City attorney Elliott C. Mr. Crawford. “At this point, we focus only on the intervention and ensure that Mr Maldonado-Passage has a legal remedy for the transgressions allegedly committed through Mr Lowe. “