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Tiger King star ‘irritated’ he hasn’t made any money from Netflix show

Hit documentary turned its contributors into celebrities overnight

Ellie Harrison
Friday 15 May 2020 10:47 BST
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Tiger King, Murder, Mayhem and Madness, Official Trailer

Tiger King star John Reinke has admitted it “irritates” him that he has not made any money from the Netflix hit.

The documentary about the feud between cat trader Joe Exotic and animal rights activist Carole Baskin was hugely popular when it was released in March this year, turning its contributors into celebrities overnight.

Reinke, who worked with Exotic for 14 years, told TooFab: “I filmed that thing for five or six years, and didn’t make biscuits out of that. Netflix made all the money on that…

“I have heard that some people made money on it, and that kind of irritates me a little bit.

“But I’ve not tried to make money at all through this… until now.”

Reinke also said he thought Exotic’s sentence was too long.

Exotic is currently serving a 22-year sentence for his involvement in a murder-for-hire plot and numerous animal abuse charges.

“He shouldn’t be in there for 22 years,” said Reinke. “He did do some stuff wrong, but I think he’s done enough time.”

Earlier this month, it was announced that Nicolas Cage will star as Joe Exotic in a new scripted series about the animal trader.

The eight-episode show will chronicle how Exotic “fought to keep his park even at the risk of losing his sanity”.

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