EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS

Joe Exotic’s Legal Team Asks Trump for a Pardon in a Very Weird Video

Eagles, tigers, and motorcycles. Oh, my!

It seems we have, unfortunately, still not heard the last from Joe Exotic and his legal team. Days after announcing its intention to seek a pardon from Donald Trump with giant, decorated buses, the G.W. Zoo founder’s legal team has now produced an absolutely bizarre video outlining its plan and, above all, appealing to Trump once more to free Joe Exotic.

“They say everything is bigger in Texas,” a voice intones at the beginning of the video, published by TMZ. “This old adage has never ringed more true than in the case of the tiger king’s legal team.”

Once again, we see the buses emblazoned with the words “President Trump Please Pardon Joe Exotic.” An eagle caws and takes flight. A helicopter flies over what appears to be the prison in which Joe Exotic is being held. Then, lead counsel Francisco Hernandez speaks.

“As of Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known to many as Joe Exotic, has a distinguished Fort Worth connection and a massive new support team for his legal and business endeavors.”

Hernandez adds that Joe Exotic has selected Eric Love, “a philanthropist and private investigator, as his executive manager. Love will oversee all legal and business matters for Joe while striving to uncover the truth. A team the size of Texas has been assembled to handle the case of Joe Exotic.”

It’s unclear why the size of Joe Exotic’s team is so important—but then again, perhaps it’s an appeal to Trump’s known obsession with huuuuge and “tremendous” things? Either way, including bald eagle imagery seems like a misstep, given...

Anyway! The imagery in this video, it must be noted, is both wild and completely perplexing. A tiger roars; tigers attack people in videos that appear to have been taken in the G.W. Zoo itself; people pop wheelies on motorcycles for... some reason. There’s a dog! And a llama! And, of course, an American flag.

“With this extensive support, this unit intends to prove that the Tiger King is not only not guilty—rather, he is the victim,” Hernandez says. The team will submit a pardon application and pursue post-conviction relief as well as civil litigation.

Given how many outlandish stars this video includes, what’s perhaps most fascinating is what’s left out. Why not include some of those “hilarious” clips of Carole Baskin finding snakes in her mailbox after repeated threats from Joe? Or Joe threatening her life? Or using a blow-up doll as her likeness? The mind sure does boggle.

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Laura Bradley

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Laura BradleySenior Entertainment Reporter

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