Netflix's Tiger King quickly became the hit show of the ongoing pandemic and provided people around the world with much-needed escapism and drama.
Originally billed to one of its key players, Carole Baskin, as the Big Cat world's answer to Blackfish (a 2013 documentary that exposed the misdeeds of SeaWorld), its eventual draw stemmed not from the tigers, but the eccentric characters who were charged with their care.
While the result was entertaining - launching some of the most popular memes and TikToks of 2020 - it is safe to say that viewers of the show did not walk away with a better understanding of the tiger trade or the limitations of caring for these animals in captivity.
Watch Saff's new personal injury compensation commercial:One of the few voices of reason on the show was Kelci 'Saff' Saffery, who was at the center of one of the show's most shocking moments when he lost his arm to one of Joe Exotic's tigers - an event that Exotic proclaimed he'd never financially recover from.
VT recently spoke to Saff to gain a deeper insight into what the documentary didn't tell its viewers about big cats and discovered his inspiration for working with tigers in the first place and why there is no ideal way to keep them in captivity (contrary to what Carole Baskin suggested).
VT: What inspired you to work with animals and big cats in particular?
Saff: "I have always loved tigers. As a kid and obviously as an adult, I was completely enamored by them. It's the way they carry themselves. It's the magnitude of their presence. It started from afar as I can't own a tiger in Hawaii. But as soon as I could, I got my hands on a tiger, [and] I never looked back."
VT: Was the possibility of a serious injury something you'd considered prior to it happening?
Saff: "Because of the nature of the industry of course injury was always a possibility. It just never mattered. It still doesn't."
After losing his arm, Saff returned to work a week later. He did so by choosing to have the limb removed, enabling him to get back to the animals he loved as quickly as possible.
VT: You went back to work quickly after your injury, was it difficult adjusting?
Saff: "After my incident adjusting to life one-handed was my greatest and only struggle. Recovery was hard but more so mental than physical."
VT: How do you think things at the park would have played out if Carole Baskin had never existed?
Saff: "Joe was so engulfed by obsessing over her that I genuinely cannot imagine any different. Carole was as much a part of my experience there as Joe was."
One of the most controversial features of the series was the truck of expired and rejected Walmart meat that Joe used to feed his animals (and his employees and pizza shop customers). We took the opportunity to ask Saff whether this had a detrimental effect on the animals' health.
VT: What are your thoughts on the meat truck? Do you think it was bad for the cats, or did it not make a real difference?
Saff: "The meat truck was the only reason those cats were fed properly, period."
Featured below is the average maximum compensation that a person can receive in the US for losing an arm per state.
During the docuseries, Joe argued he was able to educate people about tigers by allowing them to come up close and personal with them, even though he was slammed by his rival Carole for charging the public to pet cubs.
VT: Do you think the good the park did in educating people about tigers - including the cub petting at malls - outweighed the problematic elements of what was going on?
Saff: "I know we educated people. I also know it was very one-sided. We knew captivity first hand. And had statistics on everything else. It's not the same. Would our cats have thrived in the wild, that's a question we can only take a wild guess at because it will and has never happened. "
Another controversial point of the docuseries was its repeat misgendering of Saff, who is a transgender man.
VT: June was Pride Month and you were repeatedly misgendered on Tiger King. Do you have a message you’d like to pass on to other trans people now you're in the spotlight?
Saff: "I believe in believing in yourself. That's what PRIDE is. I love who I am and now more than ever I know that when I ask something of someone I should be able to show them an example of just that."
VT: If there was a follow-up docuseries to Tiger King, do you think Joe Exotic and key players like yourself would be happy to bring the focus back to the animals rather than the drama?
Saff: "I think the drama is what caused the hype. Aside from the drama, it's just a bunch of guys playing with big kitties. The exotic animal industry has been around since way before my time. People only are interested in Madness, Murder, and Mayhem.
"Joe's been trying to get more people interested since I met him. But if it benefits the cats I can say with confidence that I do believe effort would be put forth. This isn't just a job to those of us who live it, it's an all-consuming lifestyle."
VT: If Joe manages to get out of prison, would you work for him again if he had another animal park?
Saff: "No."
VT: Carole Baskin has come under fire for having a business model that's not a word away from Joe's, despite claiming to be a rescue. Do you think there's an ideal way to keep big cats in captivity?
Saff: "I think I did the best I could with what I had and the animals returned the sentiment. I don't know what's best for them and until I do, I'm not going to pretend that I'm doing it right. The whole industry is one-sided.
"The animals can't tell us whether they're thriving or suffering in captivity, which is all I know. I can only guess."
VT: Ownership of the park was recently transferred to Carole. Do you think she will do a better job of looking after the tigers than Jeff Lowe?
Saff: "I would only hope that both do what's best to care for the animals as that is genuinely what this is all for.
"I always found it funny that everyone was so quick to say what's best but it's the keepers, the volunteers, the people who are with these animals day in and day out who know what it takes because they’re doing what it takes best they can. So it's not a Jeff or Carol question."
Saff's words are a testament to not only his true love of the animals, but they are a reflection of the fact that, for many, the producers of Tiger King lost sight of the opportunity they had to promote a narrative that advocated for improvements in their care.
Since VT's interview with Saff, Exotic's husband, Dillon Passage, confirmed to Good Morning Britain that filming has begun on the second season of Tiger King and that it will feature Exotic's arrest for the alleged murder-for-hire plot of Carole Baskin and animal cruelty.
With Exotic having expressed regret about the conditions he forced his chimps to live in, hopefully, this second season will give the animals more of the voice they were denied in season one.