Your lion eyes: Why Tiger King’s Joe Exotic isn’t the songbird of our generation


"I saw a tiger, now I understand. I saw tiger, and the tiger saw man." Photo: Habor Picture Company
Three months ago, the idea that a gun-toting tiger enthusiast with a bleached-blond mullet and two husbands would have the power to unite the world in a time of crisis might have seemed far fetched.
But here we are.
Viewers of Netflix’s latest global craze, Tiger King, have been surprised to learn that the show’s eccentric centrepiece does not sing his own songs.
Joe Exotic, the absurd, charming wildlife fanatic and part-time country singer reportedly lip-syncs and mimics playing the guitar.
The real performers are Danny Clinton and Vince Johnson of The Clinton Johnson Band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUOZUu0t2CA
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Mr Johnson claims that Exotic had the ideas for the songs and hired the country duo to write the tune and sing the lyrics for his music videos.
The pair were shocked to learn that Exotic later passed the songs off as his own.
“We all get what’s coming to us in the end, be it good or bad. Joe, all in all, was likeable,” Mr Johnson said.
“Most people just bore the hell out of me. They have the personality of a lobster. He’s a seedy shyster, but he’s got personality.”
The Clinton Johnson Band recorded three albums worth of songs for Exotic before Mr Clinton died in October due to heart-related issues.
The fact that Exotic has claimed the songs as his own does not feel off-brand for a person who takes self-confidence to a sociopathic level.

Somehow breeding tigers is low on the list of weird things about Joe Exotic. Photo: imdb/Harbor Picture Company
Mateusz Gugałka, who produced some of Exotic’s music videos, claimed there was rarely any planning involved.
“He would just wake up one morning sometimes…and say, ‘We’re going to shoot a music video today, because I had a dream, pretty much, of how I want it to look’. Then he would show up dressed like a priest.”
But it’s not just the chaotic lunacy encapsulated in Tiger King that has people talking, it’s also the hilarious memes.
If you haven’t witnessed the insanity for yourself, then look away as the following contains spoilers. Also, go and watch it now.
If you haven’t binged #tigerking are you even on quarantine?? #JoeExotic pic.twitter.com/GIFX4iNXyB
— Jamie Pier Juneau (@thejuneauhome) March 30, 2020
It seems that everyone is as invested in Exotic’s music career as we were.
DONT👏🏻CLAIM 👏🏻TO 👏🏻KNOW COUNTRY 👏🏻MUSIC 👏🏻IF 👏🏻YOU DONT 👏🏻KNOW 👏🏻WHO 👏🏻THIS 👏🏻IS #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/bW51dF1IA0
— Madi 👀 (@Maffy_260) March 29, 2020
You know you’ve hit peak insanity when the man who inspired Scarface seems the most normal.
https://twitter.com/also_rhoda/status/1244229689595572225
The eyebrow ring is as flimsy as Joe Exotic’s grip on reality.
Joe Exotic’s eyebrow ring be like… #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/8fJwRbxQ8a
— That Shit Cray (@Craigisonfire) March 29, 2020
Name a more iconic trio.
I’m going to tell my kids these were the Dixie Chicks. #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/gZxKNkvLbW
— WideSideSports (@WideSideSports) March 30, 2020
This jet ski montage was almost as weird as the man who was interviewed while in the bathtub … almost.
Made no sense, didn’t fit the storyline, super weird, but somehow necessary. #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/2ACVHRWsEn
— Thad Hicks (@olehicks) March 30, 2020
But seriously, why was he in the bathtub?
Is he being interviewed in…the bathtub? #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/k9ezCb35RQ
— Lauren Callender (@Lo_Callender) March 30, 2020
"If someone wanted to kill you, then they would put like, sardine oil all over you. Something that the cat wants to eat." – Carole Baskin #TigerKing pic.twitter.com/BorWHz09Ru
— Megan ★ Jameson (@megan_jameson) March 30, 2020