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By now, it seems pretty much everyone knows all about the Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness and the crazy cast of characters involved in the world of big cat collecting, including the star of the show Joe Exotic.
However, the list of things we did NOT know, but have since learned about Joe, Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe, Doc Antle, and the rest, could have easily filled another two seasons worth of episodes.
The latest crazy addendum to Tiger King comes in the form of a fifth Joe Exotic “husband” who did not appear in the docuseries and sounds like a real charmer.
We know all about the bizarre journey of John Finlay, the sad case of Travis Maldonado, and Joe’s latest love Dillon Passage. We also briefly heard mention of Joe’s first “husband” Brian Rhyne, who passed away due to complications related to HIV.
Related: Power Ranking The 8 Worst People To Appear In The Netflix Documentary ‘Tiger King’
Now, it turns out, Joe Exotic had a “husband” in between Rhyne and Finlay named Jeffrey Charles “JC” Hartpence.
According to a 2019 New York Magazine article on Joe, Hartpence once held a gun to Joe’s head in a drunken rage, leading to their breakup, and is now serving a life sentence in a Kansas prison for the 2014 murder of a man named Curtis Shelton.
The Mirror also reports that Hartpence was also convicted for aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14.
5. Before Joe married John or Travis, he married another young (straight) guy named JC Hartpence. Hartpence later served time in prison for molesting a young girl, and is now serving life in prison for first degree murder. pic.twitter.com/gn1wtOft3v
— 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐫 (@robertmoor_) March 23, 2020
Robert Moor, who runs a podcast about Joe Exotic and revealed the restraining order filed against Carole Baskin by her boyfriend following the disappearance of her wealthy husband Don Lewis, has also mentioned the possibility of a sixth “husband” named Paul, who New York Magazine also discussed.
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/1242578059787669504While dating John, Joe seduced a young man named Paul (who asked me not to reveal his last name). Paul was quiet, withdrawn, a fan of Insane Clown Posse. He (like John and J.C.) doesn’t identify as gay. Joe, John, and Paul all slept in one bed, with Joe in the middle.
More recently, Joe Exotic was placed in coronavirus isolation in prison while he awaits word on the Presidential pardon he requested from Donald Tump.