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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Ellie Harrison

Tiger King: Joe Exotic announces he has prostate cancer

Photograph: Netflix

Tiger King star Joe Exotic has revealed he has prostate cancer.

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, shot to fame after appearing as the main subject in Netflix’s Tiger King docu-series.

He is currently in prison after being convicted on a number of charges, including a murder-for-hire plot against his rival, Big Cat Rescue boss Carole Baskin.

Posting on Twitter on Friday (14 May), he told his followers: “John Phillips has received my medical records from FMC Fort Worth and my PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer. The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in. My body is tired, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control.”

In a string of follow-up tweets, he said he is continually vomiting and begged to be let out of prison. He urged US president Joe Biden to “sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food”.

While Exotic is currently due for release in 2037, he previously sought clemency from former president Donald Trump, but his appeals were ignored. Last month, Exotic issued another plea to be let out of prison, claiming that he is the victim of “conspiracy”.

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