Tiger King star Jeff Lowe is entering a legal battle with Peta over the sale of a Joe Exotic Halloween costume.
Fans of the Netflix documentary series can get their hands on a “Joe Exotic Tiger Killer Costume”, which is being sold by the animal rights charity.
The costume is available for pre-order for $159.99 (about £123) and features a blonde mullet wig and moustache, a “plush pouncing tiger”, an orange jumpsuit with the word “King” of “Tiger King” replaced with “Killer” and a set of prison bars.
On 21 July, Lowe, who took control of Exotic’s zoo when he went to jail, sent the group a cease and desist.
The letter, seen by The Hollywood Reporter, states that the costume takes advantage of “unauthorised proprietary rights to the ‘Joe Exotic’ and ‘Tiger King’ names,” which are owned by Lowe.
It continues: “Peta’s unauthorised use has damaged and adversely impacted by client’s proprietary interests.”
In response, the charity called the claims “absurd” and argued that parody constituted fair comment under the First Amendment in the US constitution.
“We suggest Mr. Lowe focus instead on his serious legal problems in Nevada, Oklahoma and elsewhere, including the numerous recent federal Animal Welfare Act violations perpetrated against endangered big cats at his greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park,” they wrote.
Exotic is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for attempting to have animal rights activist Carole Baskin murdered, as well as 17 counts of animal abuse.
The rivalry between Exotic and Baskin was the subject of Netflix’s documentary series Tiger King, which was a huge hit for the streaming service when it was released in March.
