Joseph Maldonado, known as Joe Exotic on the 2020 Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, according to a letter written by Maldonado.
“It is with a sad face that I have to tell you the doctors called me in today to break the news that my prostate biopsy came back with an aggressive cancer. I am still waiting on the results from other test as well,” he wrote in a letter provided to CNN by his attorney John M. Phillips.
“Right now, I don’t want anyone’s pity,” he added.
Maldonado has been undergoing medical treatment and tests for a host of issues, according to his attorney.
“The PSA test is a blood test used primarily to screen for prostate cancer. It was high. He finally obtained biopsies. They revealed cancer. Medical care is different in a prison environment and fewer options are available,” Phillips said.
Maldonado was convicted in 2019 in a murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin as well as other crimes that include animal abuse. Baskin, who owns a tiger sanctuary in Florida and had secured a million-dollar judgment against him, had a longstanding feud with Maldonado that was chronicled in the “Tiger King” series.
Maldonado is due to be resentenced following a court order in July. The US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Maldonado’s 264-month prison sentence upon appeal.
