Joe Exotic is Vying for a Presidential Pardon

The 'Tiger King' star is hoping for clemency.

Joe Exotic—whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage—is seeking out a presidential pardon from President Joe Biden, and he thinks 90 Day Fiancé alum Jesse Meester might be able to help make it happen.

In a new Instagram post shared to his account on Monday, Exotic revealed his unlikely friendship with the 29-year-old reality star, writing, "Meet my amazing dear friend Jesse Meester, actor, model, and so much more."

"You will see him around on my stuff more and more as he is going to help me get a voice to the White House for President Biden to sign my pardon before November of this year," Exotic, 59, continued. "Show him some love. Love you, Jesse."

Meester—who gained notoriety while dating Darcey Silva on the reality show—responded to Exotic in the comments, writing, "We love you too Joe! People close to you turned their back on you, but not us. You helped many people through lockdown and we should never forget the truth and authenticity you lived your life with. It's sad that the backstabbing and lying has become the norm [in] this society. Time to unite and fight back to get you out."

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The former zookeeper has been serving time since January 2020 for a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin, which was chronicled on the popular Netflix documentary series Tiger King and dramatized in Peacock's Joe vs Carole.

Exotic—who was also convicted of animal abuse charges—was later resentenced by a federal judge. Despite his pleas for leniency due to his stage one prostate cancer diagnosis, Exotic was ordered to serve 21 years, with just one year taken off his original 22-year sentence.

There's no word yet on how exactly Meester plans to attempt to secure Exotic's pardon, but this isn't the first time the former reality star has reached out to other celebrities for help. In January of 2021, Exotic spoke out after failing to secure a pardon from President Donald Trump in his final days in office. He had previously reached out to Kim Kardashian, requesting she call on the then-president on his behalf.

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