There was only one way for Joel McHale, host of the "Tiger King" aftershow "The Tiger and I," to kick things off: Just like Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin, the person Joe Exotic allegedly tried to have killed.“Hey, all you cool cats and kittens,” said McHale, borrowing Baskin's greeting captured in "Tiger King." The former host of "The Soup" said he “devoured” the episodes centered on Joe and his former zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.Joe, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is serving 22 years in prison for attempted murder for hire and killing five tigers, among other charges.McHale joked that the special's forthcoming revelations would include if his interview subjects had a strong enough WiFi signal to converse via video chat.But, of course, we learned so much more.Joe Exotic's journey from big cats to the Big House after murder for hireNetflix's 'Tiger King' transcends isolation to build communityJoe Exotic had good and bad sidesJoe was both panned and praised in the special episode.Erik Cowie, head keeper at the G.W. Zoo, says Joe had a short fuse. “You couldn’t talk to him without getting yelled at," Cowie recalls. "He’d run people off in 20 minutes, just by the absurdly crass things that would come out of his mouth.” It's Cowie's firm stance that Joe should remain in jail, predicting: “(Joe's) gonna die in there, so … good riddance.”Former zoo manager John Reinke also speaks of Joe's ill-temper, saying he “was always belittling somebody. Always.”In contrast, Kelci “Saff” Saffery, a former animal keeper, makes mention of Joe's good side.“I’ve seen him give the jacket off his back for people," says Saffery. "And I think that wasn’t highlighted enough."Joe did a lot of messed-up stuff," Saffery added. "That’s a fact and that’s shown, and now the entire world knows it. But he did a lot of good things, too.” Perhaps the most shocking characterization comes courtesy of Rick Kirkham, who produced Joe Exotic TV. Kirkham claims "Joe was terrified of big cats" and "scared to death of lions and tigers," oh, my!According to Kirkham, when Joe was filmed with tigers, they were sedated or posed no threat."In the shots that you see in there, where he’s in with the two tigers, the white one and the other one, the white one is blind and the other one is on tranquilizers," said Kirkham. "It’s idiotic to think how he’s become famous as ‘The Tiger King’ when he’s so terrified of big cats.”Sarah Hyland, Wells Adams play dress up, channel Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic during coronavirus conferenceJeff Lowe afflicted by portrayalLowe, who took over the zoo from Joe, isn't happy with how he comes off. "I think they tried to sensationalize the story a little bit to give it a villain,” he said. He also challenged those who believe Lowe set Joe up in the murder-for-hire plot.“You guys saw all the (threatening) videos that Joe was posting," Lowe said. "Those videos where (Joe's) shooting Carole, hanging Carole, blowing Carole up. ...
