Published 18:41 IST, March 31st 2020
Shaquille O'Neal says Joe Exotic is 'not my friend' while defending 'Tiger King' cameo
Shaquille O'Neal opens up on his relationship with 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic. Big Shaq claims to have no professional ties with the latter who is in prison.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
With almost the entire world forced to remain indoors, a lot of people have been keeping themselves busy by going on Netflix and binge-watching shows. Netflix's latest documentary Tiger King turned out to be huge hit amongst animal lovers and the rest of the general public. Even NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who visited the Tiger Zoo in 2014, featured in a small cameo on the show based around popular Oklahoma cult figure - Joe Exotic.
Netflix's Tiger King is turning out to be a huge hit across the globe
Shaquille O'Neal defends his 'Tiger King' cameo and says Joe Exotic is 'not my friend'
In the recent episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, the former Lakers star recalled his encounter with cult figure Joe Exotic. Shauquille O'Neal was quoted as saying "I forgot what year it was, [but] Dallas was playing OKC. Instead of flying back and forth, we get on the Shaq bus. On the way, we see a sign that says 'Tiger Sanctuary. We go in there and it's a beautiful place, and the character that was there was Exotic Joe."
Shaquille O'Neal further went on to clarify his relationship with the now incarcerated Joe Exotic. He stated that he merely visited the zoo once or twice and made donations which went towards the well-being of the animals in the zoo. We went back a couple times. And then we found out that he's involved with all the stuff and, actually, I stopped going. I had no idea all that stuff was going on. I don't harm tigers. I love tigers. Do I put donations to these zoos to help these tigers out? I do it all the time. Do I own tigers personally at my house? No." As for the extent of his relationship with Joe Exotic, Shaq wants to make clear: "I was just a visitor. I met this guy --[he's] not my friend. Don't know him. Never had any business dealings with him. I had no idea any of that stuff was going on.”
When does Joe Exotic get released? Is Joe Exotic in jail now?
The answer to the question 'Is Joe Exotic in jail now?' is YES. The Tiger King star was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison on January 22, 2020. When does Joe Exotic get released? Joe Exotic vowed to appeal the decision and even wrote a letter to Donald Trump, requesting a presidential pardon, as per reports.
Updated 18:41 IST, March 31st 2020