Miranda Lambert is defending herself online after sharing pictures of her with Joe Exotic — the former zoo operator and convicted felon best known as the subject of Netflix’s latest true crime docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
On Monday, Lambert, the American country singer, posted three photos taken in 2017 with Exotic, 57, who is currently in prison serving a 22-year sentence for hiring a hitman to murder Carole Baskin.
The 36-year-old captioned her post: “Here’s a little Monday memory for y’all. #TigerKing #WayTooPrettyForPrison.”
Exotic’s ex-husband John Finlay is also seen in the pictures, along with other staff members of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park (or “GW Zoo”) — where Tiger King is prominently set.
In the smash-hit series, it was revealed that the “roadside” zoo held more than 176 mistreated tigers, which is why Lambert — both an animal rights activist and the founder of MuttNation — became a target after sharing the pictures associating with Exotic on Easter Monday.
Hours later, after being bombarded with hateful comments by her supporters, the Mama’s Broken Heart singer took to Twitter clarifying the context of the picture.
She revealed that during a MuttNation charity event in Houston, Texas — where the animal rescue foundation was working to rehome displaced dogs following Hurricane Harvey — Exotic had volunteered his staff to help Lambert and her team.
“Backstory: during Hurricane Harvey, the MuttNation Team went to Houston to help relocate existing shelter dogs to free up shelter space for animals separated by their owners,” she wrote.
“MuttNation asked for volunteers who could transport some dogs from Houston to shelters in Oklahoma, where there was more room and they could be treated and adopted,” she said. “Some guy named Joe volunteered his trailer and staff,” Lambert added, referring to Exotic.
The musician later revealed she didn’t know who Exotic was or that he even owned tigers.
“Now I know it’s ‘Joe Exotic,’ she wrote. “I’ve never been to his zoo and I didn’t even know he had tigers. Obviously, I’d never condone animals being treated badly,” she concluded.
In response to Lambert’s clarification, a number of users tweeted out defending her honour by reminding others that she is heavily invested in animal rights activism and by insinuating she didn’t know who Exotic was at the time.
“Anyone can tell those photos were from a while ago and if you know ANYTHING about Miranda Lambert, you know she does not condone animal abuse at all,” wrote one user.
Aimed directly at Lambert, someone else tweeted: “I hate that you have to explain the picture. If anyone has followed you, they know how much you love animals.”
Initially, Lambert was faced with both doubt and concerns about how Exotic’s tigers were being treated.
“I wouldn’t be bragging about Tiger King,” commented one user on her Instagram post. “Have you seen hidden videos of him punching tigers in the face? Shame on anyone who is in his corner,” they added.
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“Why would Miranda be associating with someone like him?” asked one user. “I’m confused.”
“Did you know how badly those animals were being treated?” questioned another.
Additionally, one person wrote: “Joe is too pretty for prison? Well, tigers are too pretty to be captive in conditions that Joe kept them in. They are too pretty to be shot and killed for no reason.”
— With files from Katie Scott
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