An Exhaustive (And Exhausting) Look at 'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic's Music Videos
Not only is Joe Exotic the Tiger King, but he’s the musician of a generation. While that may be a stretch, the star of Netflix’s Tiger King did release some music videos worth a watch. Because they are completely and utterly ridiculous.
The famous felon has released several power ballads that are all set to instantly iconic music videos, all of which show off Exotic’s big cats and bigger ego. But one thing the songs might now show off is Exotic’s actual singing voice.
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that many, if not all, of the songs Exotic “sings” were written by a third party — and not actually sung by Exotic. The newspaper writes “the actual recordings of his albums were farmed out to songwriter Vince Johnson and singer Danny Clinton, each of whom are credited for ‘Archival Footage’ in the docuseries.”
The newspaper continues: “The two apparently had no idea Exotic was going to straight-up pretend he sang them on record, and Exotic’s inability to perform them in person was something of a running joke during the filming of Tiger King.”
So the Tiger King may be a bigger fraud that we all previously knew — and that’s saying something. But these music videos still stand as prime time entertainment.
“Here Kitty Kitty”
Perhaps the song most Tiger King fans will be curious about is “Here Kitty Kitty.” The 2015 song is about Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue in Florida and the woman Exotic hired someone to murder. The song chronicles how Exotic believes Baskin murdered her husband, Don Lewis, and disposed of his body. The video even features a look-alike Baskin feeding raw meat to tigers.
In the YouTube description of the music video, Exotic writes, “There is one way to get a message across and that is with music. Everyone loves music.”
“I Saw A Tiger”
Heavily featured in the Netflix series is Exotic’s song “I Saw A Tiger,” which was released in 2013. The video features Exotic’s long time partner Joe Finlay as a hunter and many of his tigers. It also features copious amounts of sequins and a snakeskin cowboy hat.
“Because You Love Me”
The music video for Exotic’s song “Because You Love Me,” which shows Exotic parading around his park and awkwardly interacting with his “fans.” The video also has many incredible shots of Exotic's eyebrow ring that’s seemingly hanging on by a thread.
“Pretty Woman Lover"
As an openly gay man, Exotic also has a song called “Pretty Woman Lover,” which is just as odd as it sounds. In the song, Exotic says he’s a “pretty woman lover and an ugly woman’s dream,” so he’s definitely the feminist hero we all need.
“I Can’t Believe This Feeling”
In this song, Exotic discovered autotune and used it liberally. Unlike “Pretty Woman Lover,” this song celebrates Exotic’s sexuality, featuring a male love interest sitting in a pickup truck and staring awkwardly into the distance as Exotic sings lovingly to him.
“Do You Ever Wonder What Love Could Do?”
This song seems to be an appeal to support wild animal captivity, which seems to go along with Exotic’s essence. It also features Exotic singing into the tiniest microphone ever and a lot of straining neck veins.
“Bring It On (Please Unite)”
According to the YouTube description, this song was created by Exotic to “infect everyone with love and the right to have our animals.” This music video has everything: tigers, guns, IV infusions, coffee, right wing media, left wing media, and adoring fans. Oh, and that eyebrow ring still hanging on for dear life.
“How Was I To Know”
This song is a tribute to Exotic’s late husband Travis Maldonado, who died of an accidental self-inflicted gun shot wound. Yet the loving tribute features a clip from the Netflix series where Maldonado was so angry at Exotic, he punched a big rig. It's an interesting choice.
“GW And Me”
A tribute to his beloved brother, this song chronicles Exotic’s life after G.W.’s death. It also has a trippy lens flare filters worth a gander.
“My First Love”
Yet another intense power ballad with a video in the snow (side note: How are all these videos in the snow in Oklahoma?!) Exotic singing by candlelight is truly inspired.
“This Is My Life”
This video has some inexplicable shots of Exotic smelling his partner John Finlay’s butt, which is about the only notable thing aside from Exotic’s pink paisley shirt.
“How Was I To Know”
Set to a truly bumping’ beat, this video features Exotic in a casket in the middle of a field. He’s also oddly edited into a fake drive-in movie screen for a large portion of the video. But, seriously, where did they get this casket?
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