Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more twists in the Tiger King saga, another one comes out of the blue to turn everything on its head. The celebrated Netflix true-crime series has been heralded as one of the most outrageous and surprising stories in recent history, with a colorful cast of characters that makes the average soap look like a sober Second World War documentary. Now that the series has aired, yet more shocking allegations are coming out of the woodwork.
Although the show touched many aspects of the anti-hero-come-zoo-owner-come-country singer-come-murder conspiracist Joe Exotic’s life, it has subsequently been suggested that the producers still managed to miss a major piece of the puzzle. Namely, that the flamboyantly unconventional Exotic actually has a son.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Exotic’s estranged niece Chealsi Putman revealed that, not only did the documentary fail to draw attention to the existence of his son, but that at certain points he can even be seen in the show.
Watch As President Trump Says 'I Will Take A Look' Into Pardoning Tiger King Joe Exotic:As Putman, who has herself admitted that she helped the FBI to catch her uncle when he was wanted for the attempted murder of Carole Baskin, explained, 38-year-old Brandon Chappell was born while his mother and Exotic were living together in Texas in the early 80s. Putnam claimed that the pair had a dramatic falling out after Exotic pressured Brandon’s mother to carry out fraudulent activity on behalf of the zoo.
Aside from his relationship with his son, Putman made a series of lurid claims about her incarcerated uncle. Suggesting that the reality of Joe Exotic was far worse than what had appeared on Netflix, Putman alleged that the ‘Tiger King’ could be incredibly abusive to the cats in his care, even suggesting that there were videos of zoo guests performing sex acts on some of the animals.
Fans of the series will soon have the chance to learn even more about their favorite characters, thanks to the release of a special follow-up episode eight. Hosted by actor Joel McHale, the episode is set to drop this Sunday. Whether it addresses any of the accusations leveled by Putman remains to be seen.