Britney Spears and Shaquille O’Neal Are Both Connected to This Jailed “Tiger Lover” Who Is Now a US Sensation

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, Madness aired on Netflix in 2020. The second season came out in 2021. The series was based on a true story of a zoo owner who spiraled out of control. The true-crime docu-series showed the life of the former zoo owner and convicted felon, Joe Exotic who went into the murder for hire. Many world-known celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal, had visited the zoo before Joe was convicted for his crimes.

The Netflix documentary quickly became popular and had a 7.5 rating on IMDb and 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Tiger King became a US sensation just a few days after its release. The shocking documentary revealed many unknown facts about the life of Joe Exotic.

Many celebrities namely Britney Spears, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Odell Beckham Jr, and Shaquille O’Neal among others had their encounters with the zoo owner.

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Britney Spears had used the zoo privileges of Joe in one of her concerts. Antle was the tiger handler on stage during the Princess of Pop’s performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U” at the 2001 VMAs when she famously draped a python over her shoulders.

The reason behind the cameo of Shaquille O’Neal in Tiger King

Shaq made a very brief cameo in the Netflix documentary, ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, Madness’. After making the brief cameo, the retired NBA star and Lakers legend confirmed that he had visited the zoo in the documentary before everything was revealed to the world. Shaquille O’Neal went to the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park a few times over the years.

He spoke about his tiny connection to Joe Exotic. “I was just a visitor,” he said. “I met this guy [Joe Exotic] — not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on.”

Joe Exotic is now jailed. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January 2020. He was held in a federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina, while he awaited a hearing on his sentence.

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Joe tried for a bail period to get proper treatment for his prostate cancer which he revealed in 2021. Joe Exotic was convicted of multiple charges, including animal abuse and attempted murder for hire for the plot to kill Carole Baskin.