Latest news with #JoeExotic
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Zoo CEO branded 'as bad as Joe Exotic' booted after secret plot to import pandas from China outraged staff
A San Francisco zookeeper who was branded as bad as the imprisoned Tiger King, Joe Exotic, has been axed from her job to the joy of her employees. Tanya Peterson has announced she will step down from her job as the CEO of the San Francisco Zoo after several scandals and a campaign to oust her from the top spot. 'Leading this zoo has been one of the great honors of my life,' she said in a statement, according to The San Francisco Standard. 'I have been committed to leading the SF Zoo through some of its most transformative and, unfortunately, some of its most challenging moments.' Peterson has been leading the zoo since 2008 and has weathered several controversies, including concerns over animal and worker safety. She also lost 20 percent of her staff between 2019 and 2023, including nine managers who had between 10 and 50 years of experience, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Peterson got off to challenging start, stepping into the role fresh off the heels of a death at zoo after a 300-pound Siberian tiger got out of its exhibit on Christmas Day and killed a visitor and injured two others in 2007. Since then, more animal shave also escaped their cages, endangering zookeepers, and some animals, like a baby gorilla and penguin, have died under Peterson's leadership. Last month, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is set to freeze the zoo's $4million in city funding until it turns in an audit for its finances, The Los Angeles Times reported. The board approved the audit last year after the zoo received negative press about mismanagement and animal care and it wanted to see how the establishment was operating. The the zoo's union, Teamsters 856, also issued a vote of no confidence in Peterson in October. It was the second one she has received since 2014, when the first was issued due to half finished projects at the zoo. Ahead of the vote, Peterson let slip about a secret meeting she was about to have with the Chinese Consulate about bringing pandas to San Francisco allegedly in an attempt to leverage her position. Only two other zoos have pandas: San Diego and the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Peterson allegedly told the Board of Supervisors that if she were to be let go, the zoo might not get the pandas. When former Mayor London Breed announced it publicly in April, zookeepers had no idea and were worried the zoo didn't have what was needed to care for the pandas. The pandas are projected to cost the establishment an estimated $25million to accommodate. The pandas are expected to arrive at the coastal zoo by the end of 2026, and Peterson played a large role in helping Breed get the animals from China. The zoo will have up safety measures before their arrival after a bear almost mauled a zookeeper in May 2022. The zookeeper was working inside the enclosure and had thought he had locked Kiona up properly, but the door misfunctioned, allowing her to get out and unexpectedly approach him. When he tried to escape, the bear followed him. He narrowly made it to safety. In 2014, a baby gorilla was crushed by a door inside her enclosure. The animals were being moved to their nighttime area when Kabibe darted underneath the door as it was closing. Experts said both instances could have been avoided if the zoo had enacted proper safety measures. Peterson has also been under siege from lawmakers. Earlier this month, current Mayor Daniel Lurie pushed for her to leave her post. And now that she's finally out, employees are overjoyed. 'I haven't seen this level of positivity and excitement ever,' Stephanie Carpenter, a reptile keeper, told The Los Angeles Times. Travis Shields, a former carnivore curator, told The Times: 'I don't think [keepers] care who comes next. It can't be any worse unless Joe Exotic comes in - and he's still in prison.' Now, the $25million panda project might be in peril, as Peterson's departure leaves it hanging in a gray area. 'They're holding their breath,' a former manager, who was not identified, told The Times. The new CEO, who has not been appointed, will have to figure out how to raise the money - something Peterson was very good at, according to employees. 'She's a good fundraiser, I'll give her that,' an San Francisco Recreation and Park Commissioner Larry Mazzola Jr. told The Times. Lurie and the board will appoint the new executive. 'I look forward to working with the board and the new leadership to improve our zoo,' he said in a statement. He also looks forward to bringing pandas to town.
Black America Web
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
20 Famous Faces You FORGOT Were in Prison
Celebrities, like the rest of us, are subject to the law when they commit crimes. However, there's a complex conversation to be had about whether they receive special treatment within the justice system due to their wealth and fame. TRENDING: Gettin' That Bag: Here Are 20 High Paying Career Fields in Texas TRENDING: 20 Black CLASSIC MOVIES That FLOPPED at Th Box Office The simple fact is that people with a history of huge success may develop greater confidence in their abilities to handle challenges and achieve their goals, which can translate into a willingness to pursue more ambitious goals and take bigger risks. Of course while most famous faces manage to avoid committing crimes, there will always be those who through extreme caution to the wind and find themselves in some pretty serious situations. TRENDING: The Unhealthiest Fast Food Restaurants, Ranked Despite their notoriety, these 25 celebs fought the long arm of the law for various criminal offenses.. and lost. Scroll below. 20 Famous Faces You FORGOT Were in Prison was originally published on 1. Joe Exotic Joe Exotic, who gained famed following the release of the 'Tiger King' Netflix doc, was convicted in 2019 of two counts of murder-for-hire, for attempting to arrange the killing of his rival, Carole Baskin. Exotic was also found guilty on multiple charges related to wildlife violations. Joe illegally killed tigers to make space for other big cats and falsified wildlife records to hide the sales of tigers and other endangered species 2. Mystikal Mystikal is currently in prison in Louisiana, awaiting trial on several charges stemming from an alleged assault in July 2022. This isn't his first time having trouble with the law, but this go round he's got quite the laundry list of charges, which include: First-degree rape Domestic abuse battery by strangulation False imprisonment Simple robbery Simple criminal damage to property Possession of heroin Illegal possession of Xanax Possession of methamphetamine Possession of marijuana Possession of drug paraphernalia If convicted of first-degree rape in the current case, he faces a mandatory life sentence under Louisiana law. 3. Fetty Wap In May 2023 he was sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances. Fetty is in jail for his involvement in a large-scale drug trafficking sentenced to six years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess controlled substances. Prosecutors say Fetty Wap was a 'kilogram-level redistributor' for an organization that distributed over 100 kilos of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine across Long Island and New Jersey between approximately June 2019 and June 2020. The drugs were sourced from the West Coast and transported to New York, where they were stored and subsequently distributed to dealers. 4. Jared aka 'The Subway Guy' Jared Fogle, formerly known as the 'Subway Guy,' is in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to child pornography and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors. He was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison in November 2015. Specifically, he pleaded guilty to: One count of distributing and receiving child pornography . One count of traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The investigation and charges against Fogle also involved a co-conspirator, Russell Taylor, who was also convicted of child exploitation and child pornography charges. Fogle was initially known for losing a significant amount of weight by eating Subway sandwiches, becoming a spokesperson for the company. However, his public image was shattered after the FBI raid on his home in 2015 and the subsequent revelations of his crimes. 5. Michael Jace While not quite a household name, Michael Jace is currently in prison for the murder of his wife, April Jace. He is best known for his role as Officer Julien Lowe in the FX drama The Shield, and also appeared in films such as Forrest Gump, Boogie Nights, and Planet of the Apes. He was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison on June 10, 2016. 6. Josh Duggar Josh Duggar, a former reality television personality, is currently in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. He was convicted by a jury in December 2021 and sentenced in May 2022 to over 12 years in federal prison. His sentence also includes registering as a sex offender and 20 years of supervised release after his prison term. He is serving his sentence at FCI Seagoville in Texas. Duggar's appeals have been denied. His current earliest release date is December 23, 2032. 7. 'That 70s Show' Actor Danny Masterson Danny Masterson is currently serving a 30-year to life prison sentence after being convicted of raping two women in 2003. He was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape during a retrial in May 2023, after a previous trial ended in a mistrial. The attacks occurred at his Hollywood Hills home during the time he was starring in the sitcom 'That '70s Show'. 8. Ex-NFL Star Darren Sharper Darren Sharper, a former NFL star, is currently in prison for drugging and raping numerous women in multiple states. His crimes spanned across California, Nevada, Louisiana, and Arizona, where he pleaded guilty or no contest to various charges related to sexual assault and drug distribution. Sharper was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years in federal prison after admitting to drugging and raping women. 9. Ex-MMA Fighter War Machine Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver, known to fighting fans as 'War Machine', is in prison for kidnapping, beating, and sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Christine Mackinday (also known as Christy Mack), and assaulting her male friend, Corey Thomas. War Machine was convicted on 29 of 34 charges, including sexual assault and kidnapping, according to ESPN He was sentenced to 36 years to life in Nevada state prison and will be eligible for parole when he is 71 years old. 10. 'Real Housewife' Jen Shah Jen Shah, a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, is in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a telemarketing scheme that defrauded thousands of people. Shah was accused of being a central figure in a long-running telemarketing scheme that targeted and exploited vulnerable individuals by selling them nonexistent or worthless 'business services' with false promises of financial security. 11. Tay-K Tay-K, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, is in prison due to convictions for his involvement in two separate murders and multiple counts of aggravated robbery. Tay-K gained fame during his time on the run for the first murder with his song 'The Race,' which was later used as evidence against him during his sentencing phase. 12. Cash Out John Michael Hakeem Gibson, also known as the rapper Cash Out, is currently on trial in Georgia. He faces numerous charges related to sex trafficking and other offenses, including rape, aggravated sodomy, human trafficking, and violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. According to prosecutors, he allegedly used his music career and record label, Pyrez Music Group LLC, to lure women into prostitution through deception and coercion 13. Sean Kingston Sean Kingston, whose real name is Kisean Anderson, is currently in prison after being convicted alongside his mother, Janice Turner, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Kingston and his mother were found guilty of orchestrating a scheme to defraud luxury merchandise vendors out of over $1 million worth of property. 14. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez Former U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is in prison for bribery, fraud, and acting as a foreign agent. In 2023, Menendez, a Democrat representing New Jersey, was indicted on federal corruption charges, including allegations that he used his position to benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes. He was later charged with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. 15. Former 'Basketball Wives' Personality Brittish Williams Brittish Williams, known for her appearances on Basketball Wives, is in prison for committing multiple types of fraud, totaling around $564,000 in stolen funds. She pleaded guilty to 15 felonies in May 2023, including misuse of a Social Security number, bank fraud, making false statements to the IRS, and wire fraud. Williams received a sentence of four years in prison and five years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $564,069 in restitution. She is set to be released on December 24, 2025. 16. 'Love & Hip Hop' Personality Maurice 'Mo' Fayne Maurice 'Mo' Fayne, a former cast member of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, is in prison for running a Ponzi scheme and for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. In April 2020, Fayne applied for a $3.7 million PPP loan for Flame Trucking, falsifying information about his employees and payroll. In September 2021, he was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution to his victims. 17. U.S. Representative George Santos Former U.S. Representative George Santos was sentenced to 87 months (over seven years) in federal prison on April 25, 2025, after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He is expected to surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons by July 25, 2025, to begin serving his sentence. 18. Pras of The Fugees Pras (Prakazrel Michel), a member of the Fugees, is facing potential prison time after being convicted on 10 felony counts in April 2023. The charges stem from a foreign influence case, where he was found guilty of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and other related crimes. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for the most serious charges. While the jury found him guilty, a sentencing date has not yet been set. The charges include conspiracy, failing to register as an agent of China, and witness tampering. 19. Ryan Grantham Ryan Grantham, a Canadian actor known for roles in Riverdale and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is in prison for the second-degree murder of his mother, Barbara Waite. He was sentenced to life in prison with parole ineligibility for 14 years. 20. Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein, a disgraced former film producer, is in prison due to convictions for rape and sexual assault in both New York and Los Angeles. Weinstein was initially sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape, forced oral copulation, and third-degree sexual misconduct. His conviction was overturned in 2024, and he is currently undergoing a retrial. Weinstein was found guilty of one count of criminal sexual act on June 11, 2025, and a mistrial was declared on another rape charge.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Netflix gets it: we all love watching a trainwreck
Trainwreck has become TV's unlikely summer breakout, a runaway blockbuster for Netflix. Not to be confused with the 2015 comedy starring Amy Schumer, Trainwreck is the Netflix-produced anthology documentary series that revisits the shocking, bizarre and chaotic real-life media sensations of yesteryear. Episodes run the gamut from pop culture disasters (Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy) to public meltdowns (crack-smoking Toronto mayor Rob Ford) to wildly improbable fiascos (the Carnival 'poop cruise'), with each seemingly destined to land on the streamer's most-watched list. The Poop Cruise episode alone debuted to 21m views and zoomed to No 1 in a week, according to Netflix's public-facing ranking system. And there's already plenty of anticipation for forthcoming installments in the series on the Facebook campaign to storm Area 51 and the balloon boy media hoax (which debuts this week). How did Netflix of all platforms manage to turn the documentary, the most staid and sober of screen genres, into the most bingeable popcorn TV? The short answer is: Tiger King. That true crime docuseries, about the life of the conservationist turned convicted felon Joe Exotic, began as a serious look into the world of private zookeeping and quickly became a Covid era-defining television event. The biggest takeaway for Netflix was that audiences would clamor to documentaries that were more entertaining than they were illuminating or edifying, and that star directors like Alex Gibney or even gonzo king Oliver Stone (whose 12-part Untold History of the United States was ripe for QAnon age) weren't what was ultimately going to draw in viewers or worth the ceiling-setting rates. So controversy became the juicy hook. As Covid was lifting in the summer of 2021, Netflix announced itself as a major player in the sports documentary with Untold, its series re-examining sports sagas that still grip media and fans – from the Malice at the Palace riot to the University of Michigan's sign-stealing scandal. And while the series has endured with episodes that surprise (Shooting Guards) and disappoint (Liver King), they rarely penetrate far beyond the world of sports. Trainwreck, which is produced by the London-based reality juggernaut Raw TV, did not intentionally set out to recycle the Untold formula. Mainly, they were just supposed to be cheap to make and not look like it. The original three-episode order for Trainwreck – working title: Clusterfuck – was dedicated to a single topic – the 1999 reboot of the iconic Woodstock festival, an unmitigated disaster. Breaking up the archival news footage of mayhem and destruction were present-day interviews with the veejays (Carson Daly, the late great Ananda Lewis) and pop gods (Gavin Rossdale, Fatboy Slim) who happened to find themselves in the eye of the storm during those chaotic three days. Unwittingly or not, the series unlocked a hidden truth about documentary programming for the streaming age: that audiences are hungry for any content that alloys scandal and nostalgia and fame, however fleeting that fame may be. The Woodstock doc was a hit from the off, clocking more than 20m hours viewed under Netflix's old streaming metric. It took nearly three years before the company followed up on that initial success. The new episodes aren't just wild nostalgia trips. They're short, just 45 minutes apiece – making them eminently bingeable. They tap into 'relatable chaos', those high-profile stories that inspire curiosity or a collective rummage through our Covid-addled collective memory: the Dutch teenager who accidentally made her 16th birthday party invitation public and drew thousands of attenders; the Cult of American Apparel, which retraces the fall of the once-ubiquitous clothing brand. They deliver moments that you either can't fathom (Travis Scott playing on as concert revelers are crushed to death) or can't turn away from (Ford toking a crack pipe one day, tackling a city councilor another). What's more: Trainwreck episodes began dropping weekly, a critical scheduling change that keeps viewers invested in the series. None have captured the imagination quite like Poop Cruise, the grosser than gross deep dive that could've been far tougher to stomach. Not only did the film-makers have a blast putting the episode together – 'I immediately jumped at it because it was such a remarkable story, such a big story,' director James Ross told me – viewers are still buzzing about it. One Imdb user called it 'a psychological and biological meltdown that proves why Lord of the Flies is required reading in high school'. Of course mass-producing infotainment on the cheap comes with inherent downsides – the trivialization of real human tragedy, not least. One former cruise ship industry veteran, in a YouTube film review, said Trainwreck didn't do enough to make the cruise 'sound as traumatizing as it probably was'. That's just the start of the context sacrificed for character development, rising tension and other tricks of the scripted trade. At points, it hardly matters that these films are supposed to be trafficking in true events and real life people. Clearly, Netflix's ultimate goal is engagement, and there's no arguing that Trainwreck works as perfectly light summer fare. You just wonder what the series portends for the documentary genre, and how much longer it'll be before our stranger than fiction stories aren't worth telling if audiences can't binge them to their heart's content and vent about the experience on all their platforms to drive more clicks.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Netflix gets it: we all love watching a trainwreck
Trainwreck has become TV's unlikely summer breakout, a runaway blockbuster for Netflix. Not to be confused with the 2015 comedy starring Amy Schumer, Trainwreck is the Netflix-produced anthology documentary series that revisits the shocking, bizarre and chaotic real-life media sensations of yesteryear. Episodes run the gamut from pop culture disasters (Travis Scott's Astroworld tragedy) to public meltdowns (crack-smoking Toronto mayor Rob Ford) to wildly improbable fiascos (the Carnival 'poop cruise'), with each seemingly destined to land on the streamer's most-watched list. The Poop Cruise episode alone debuted to 21m views and zoomed to No 1 in a week, according to Netflix's public-facing ranking system. And there's already plenty of anticipation for forthcoming installments in the series on the Facebook campaign to storm Area 51 and the balloon boy media hoax (which debuts this week). How did Netflix of all platforms manage to turn the documentary, the most staid and sober of screen genres, into the most bingeable popcorn TV? The short answer is: Tiger King. That true crime docuseries, about the life of the conservationist turned convicted felon Joe Exotic, began as a serious look into the world of private bookkeeping and quickly became a Covid era-defining television event. The biggest takeaway for Netflix was that audiences would clamor to documentaries that were more entertaining than they were illuminating or edifying, and that star directors like Alex Gibney or even gonzo king Oliver Stone (whose 12-part Untold History of the United States was ripe for QAnon age) weren't what was ultimately going to draw in viewers or worth the ceiling-setting rates. So controversy became the juicy hook. As Covid was lifting in the summer of 2021, Netflix announced itself as a major player in the sports documentary with Untold, its series re-examining sports sagas that still grip media and fans – from the Malice at the Palace riot to the University of Michigan's sign-stealing scandal. And while the series has endured with episodes that surprise (Shooting Guards) and disappoint (Liver King), they rarely penetrate far beyond the world of sports. Trainwreck, which is produced by the London-based reality juggernaut Raw TV, did not intentionally set out to recycle the Untold formula. Mainly, they were just supposed to be cheap to make and not look like it. The original three-episode order for Trainwreck – working title: Clusterfuck – was dedicated to a single topic – the 1999 reboot of the iconic Woodstock festival, an unmitigated disaster. Breaking up the archival news footage of mayhem and destruction were present-day interviews with the veejays (Carson Daly, the late great Ananda Lewis) and pop gods (Gavin Rossdale, Fatboy Slim) who happened to find themselves in the eye of the storm during those chaotic three days. Unwittingly or not, the series unlocked a hidden truth about documentary programming for the streaming age: that audiences are hungry for any content that alloys scandal and nostalgia and fame, however fleeting that fame may be. The Woodstock doc was a hit from the off, clocking more than 20m hours viewed under Netflix's old streaming metric. It took nearly three years before the company followed up on that initial success. The new episodes aren't just wild nostalgia trips. They're short, just 45 minutes apiece – making them eminently bingeable. They tap into 'relatable chaos', those high-profile stories that inspire curiosity or a collective rummage through our Covid-addled collective memory: the Dutch teenager who accidentally made her 16th birthday party invitation public and drew thousands of attenders; the Cult of American Apparel, which retraces the fall of the once-ubiquitous clothing brand. They deliver moments that you either can't fathom (Travis Scott playing on as concert revelers are crushed to death) or can't turn away from (Ford toking a crack pipe one day, tackling a city councilor another). What's more: Trainwreck episodes began dropping weekly, a critical scheduling change that keeps viewers invested in the series. None have captured the imagination quite like Poop Cruise, the grosser than gross deep dive that could've been far tougher to stomach. Not only did the film-makers have a blast putting the episode together – 'I immediately jumped at it because it was such a remarkable story, such a big story,' director James Ross told me – viewers are still buzzing about it. One Imdb user called it 'a psychological and biological meltdown that proves why Lord of the Flies is required reading in high school'. Of course mass-producing infotainment on the cheap comes with inherent downsides – the trivialization of real human tragedy, not least. One former cruise ship industry veteran, in a YouTube film review, said Trainwreck didn't do enough to make the cruise 'sound as traumatizing as it probably was'. That's just the start of the context sacrificed for character development, rising tension and other tricks of the scripted trade. At points, it hardly matters that these films are supposed to be trafficking in true events and real life people. Clearly, Netflix's ultimate goal is engagement, and there's no arguing that Trainwreck works as perfectly light summer fare. You just wonder what the series portends for the documentary genre, and how much longer it'll be before our stranger than fiction stories aren't worth telling if audiences can't binge them to their heart's content and vent about the experience on all their platforms to drive more clicks.
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Tiger King' star Doc Antle gets prison time for trafficking endangered animals
Doc Antle, a Myrtle Beach Safari operator known for his appearance in Netflix's "Tiger King," has been sentenced for wildlife trafficking and money laundering. Bhagavan "Doc" Antle pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year in federal prison and three years of probation, according to a Department of Justice press release on Tuesday, July 8. Antle, 64, also must pay a $55,000 fine and forfeit three chimpanzees and nearly $200,000 to the government. Prosecutors say Antle laundered over $500,000 in cash tied to an operation smuggling Mexican immigrants across the U.S. border. Officials described the operation as "unlawful and unethical," saying Antle and others falsified records, funneled transactions through nonprofits and purchased and sold newborn endangered species, including baby chimpanzees, cheetahs, lions and tigers, "all while promoting themselves as conservationists," Adam Gustafson, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said. 'Tiger King' star pleads guilty to conspiring to money laundering, breaking federal law Two men involved in the operation, Jason Clay and Andrew Sawyer, have also been sentenced. One woman, Shaylynn Kolwyck-Peterson, pleaded guilty in June for illegally selling Antle a chimpanzee for $200,000. The Myrtle Beach exotic wildlife safari still appears to be open, but only by reservation. Antle's safari was featured in the hit 2020 Netflix series and a brief 2021 spinoff, "Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story." 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic is married: 'Meet my husband' "Tiger King" also made a star of Joe Exotic, born Joseph Maldonado. He was similarly convicted of crimes involving his animals, as well as hiring hitmen to kill his chief critic, Carole Baskin, and is serving a 21-year prison sentence.
