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'Tiger King' Joe Exotic writes letter to Joe Burrow, misspells QB's name in plea for help

haadiza ogwude, cincinnati enquirer
·2 min read
In a recent social media post, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, pinned a letter to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow asking for help to get him out of prison.
In a recent social media post, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, pinned a letter to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow asking for help to get him out of prison.

Joe Exotic, from Netflix's "Tiger King," is seeking help from Cincinnati's Tiger King.

In a recent social media post, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic, penned a letter to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, asking for the QB's help. Exotic, who is currently serving 21 years in federal prison for trying to murder Carole Baskin, believes Burrow should assist him due to their shared Tiger King nickname.  

"I see the news, magazines as well as yourself calling you the Tiger King," Exotic wrote. "Everyone in the world is exploiting me and and my trademarks while I sit innocent in an American Federal Prison. I have been the Tiger King before you got out of high school. Tiger King is my trademark and intellectual property. My life has been destroyed ... while you all ride fame and attention off my life's work."

Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals opened the 2023 season against the Cleveland Browns Sept. 10.
Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals opened the 2023 season against the Cleveland Browns Sept. 10.

The quarterback said in a 2022 interview with Lordstown Motors that he doesn't like the Tiger King nickname.

"See, I don't like that one that much. I don't like that show, I have not seen the show, because I don't like seeing animals in cages, I don't really like that," Burrow said. "I didn't see the show, so I don't like that nickname."

Exotic added that he's been wrongfully imprisoned and asked Burrow for his help in raising $20,000, which he says is needed to hire attorneys.

Exotic, who misspelled Burrow's name as "Burrows," ended the letter by saying if the NFL star helps him, "God might help you get to the Super Bowl this year."

Burrow has not responded to Exotic's request.

Exotic was initially sentenced to 22 years in prison in January 2020 after he was convicted of trying to hire two different men to kill Baskin, who had criticized the former zookeeper's treatment of animals. He was resentenced to 21 years in prison a year later, despite the his request for leniency due to stage one prostate cancer treatment.

Exotic was also convicted of killing five tigers, selling tiger cubs and falsifying wildlife records.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic misspells Joe Burrow's name in letter to QB