Shaquille O’Neal Defends ‘Tiger King’ Appearance, Denies Friendship With Joe Exotic
Shaquille O’Neal is addressing all backlash for his appearance on Netflix’s latest, most-popular show, ‘Tiger King.’ Defending himself, O’Neal denies any friendship with the show’s controversial star Joe Exotic.
The former NBA superstar and current sports analyst, who appeared in one of the episodes of the seven-part docuseries, took to his ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq‘ to explain his cameo, on what he calls “a really good documentary.”
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O’Neal, an animal lover who spotted Exotic’s Tiger Sanctuary one day, says, “I was just a visitor. I met this guy. Not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on. People that know me know that I’m righteous. I don’t harm tigers. I lover tigers. We found out that he’s involved with all the stuff, and then, actually, I stopped going.”
Leading up to his prior remarks, O’Neal recalls that while traveling to play in another state, “On the way we see a sign that says ‘Tiger Sanctuary. So we go in there and it’s a beautiful place and the character that was there was Exotic Joe.”
He adds, “We went back a couple times. Then we go back another time and we found out that he’s involved with all the stuff and then, actually, I stopped going. I had no idea all that stuff was going on.”
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Furthermore, for those unknowing, in January, a judge sentenced Joe Exotic, real name Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, to 22 years in prison.
Exotic was convicted on multiple charges, including an alleged murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis, animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
https://www.instagram.com/p/vqx3ryFinO/?utm_source=ig_embed
Press play below to see Shaq interact with Joe, then yap with us after
https://youtu.be/7L8hdJifyY0