Joe Exotic accepts Carole Baskin's offer to help get him out of prison

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 2h

Tiger King star Joe Exotic accepts an offer from Carole Baskin - the woman he allegedly tried to kill - to secure his early release from prison.

Joe Exotic has said that he will accept a surprise offer from rival Carole Baskin to help secure his early release from prison.

The Tiger King star is currently two-and-a-half years into a 22-year sentence for charges including a plot to murder Baskin.

Speaking earlier this month, Baskin and her husband Howard Baskin revealed that they would help petition for Exotic to be released early if he lends his support to the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which will ban the private ownership of big cats in the US.

The move would require Exotic to essentially turn into an informant and work with the authorities to help bring down individuals and firms who trade in animals such as lions, tigers and pumas.

"It is time for Carole and Howard to put up or shut the hell up because I'm accepting their offer," Exotic told ET.

"And I'm gonna take it one step further than that, OK? It is time to get on the phone to President Biden or whoever they need to that they've got in their little financial pocket and say, 'Hey, Joe is willing to support a big cat bill to help protect cats in America from being exploited. But we need to keep our end of the deal and get Joe a pardon because this wasn't really about murder for hire or shooting five tigers - this was about exploiting Joe to support Carole's agenda.' So, there's the offer on the table, all right?"

He continued: "I'll testify in front of the Senate, I'll testify in front of the House, they want to end big cats in America and they want to end the exploitation of them, I'm the man to do it.

"But it's time to get an attorney general down here and listen to the evidence that I have to prove I'm innocent and get me the hell out of here. And they've got my support.

"Other than that, they need to stay the hell out of the news with all their crap just to get their name in the paper because I just called their bluff."

During Exotic's time in prison, a further bizarre twist has seen Baskin granted ownership of his former zoo in Oklahoma.