Tiger King Joe Exotic vents anger after Donald Trump doesn't pardon him

Donald Trump, left, and Joe Exotic.
Donald Trump, left, and Joe Exotic. Photo credit: Getty

Tiger King star Joe Exotic is turning against former US President Donald Trump for not issuing him with a pardon.

A post on Exotic's official Twitter account expressed outrage at Trump for not letting him off the hook, despite several reports suggesting he would be.

Exotic, the eccentric former zoo operator who starred in the Netflix show Tiger King is currently serving a 22-year sentence, after he was found guilty of murder for hire and violating the Endangered Species Act.

"I was too innocent and too GAY to deserve a pardon from Trump," the post on Exotic's Twitter page said.

"Boy, were we all stupid to believe he actually stood for equal justice? His corrupt friends all come first."

Trump had earlier suggested he'd look into a pardon for Exotic.

"Are you recommending a pardon?" Trump asked a reporter who questioned him on the matter in April. 

"I'll take a look," the then-President said.

While Tiger King didn't receive a pardon, rappers Lil Wayne - real name Dwayne Carter - and Kodak Black were among Trump's wave of pardons in his last day of office. 

Lil Wayne was facing charges after authorities found a gold-plated gun and drugs in his bag at a Miami airport in 2019. 

"A pardon for Mr Carter is consistent with the views of many jurists … that prosecuting a nonviolent citizen for merely possessing a firearm violates the Second Amendment to the US Constitution," lawyer Howard Srebnick said, as reported by The New York Times.