Joe Exotic Juror Says 'Tiger King' Star Faked Tears During His Murder-For-Hire Trial

A juror from Joe Exotic's murder-for-hire trial says Joe Exotic tried—and failed—to fake cry during his murder-for-hire trial.

The juror, named Kristin, explained she sat about 12-feet from the larger-than-life personality while he took the stand in his trial, she revealed in an interview with Law & Crime on Thursday. She saw his personality dim in comparison to Netflix's documentary Tiger King.

"He's not a very good fake crier," Kristin said. "There were no tears. It was obvious that he wasn't actually crying, but he did give it a shot."

Viewers were able to ask the juror questions regarding Joe Exotic's conviction, which has him serving 22 years in prison for attempting to have his rival, a tiger advocate named Carole Baskin, killed. He's also serving time for animal abuse-related charges, including a series of violations of the Endangered Species Act.

The juror interview comes at the perfect time. The public's interest in the wild Joe Exotic peaked recently when Netflix released a seven-episode documentary series about the wildlife park he used to own: the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, in Oklahoma. The series touched on Exotic's flashy personality, former presidential run, country music attempts and of course, the plot to kill Baskin.

In the series, Exotic has an outgoing, rough-edged demeanor. Kristin revealed that Exotic wasn't nearly as charismatic in person. "He wasn't the same guy," she said of his overwhelming personality in Tiger King. "He was much quieter. He did give his attorneys a run for their money because I think he would talk more than they wanted him to. He would slip in a little bit of extra information."

While Exotic is painted as somewhat of a villain in the series, so are many other personalities featured. Baskin has a controversial history of her own—some viewers remain convinced she knows more about her ex-husband's unsolved disappearance than she's letting on.

Kristin saw a less-than-innocent side of Baskin shine through during Exotic's trial, too. "I didn't really have sympathy for her," she said. "She kind of antagonized him. She wasn't innocent in the internet things. He just took it a step further. She kind of antagonized him. Even from the stand she did."

Despite the outrageous behavior exhibited throughout Tiger King, some viewers want to see Joe Exotic freed from prison. The conversation has led to an abundance of pleas to take a second look at Exotic's case. While most of this seems to be in the name of entertainment, a handful of viewers think Exotic wasn't the main guilty party in the attempted murder.

Some point to the animal park's current owner, Jeff Lowe, as the mastermind behind the attempt. Lowe seemingly admitted in the series that he played a role in provoking Exotic to make official moves toward killing Baskin.

Even Kristin said she would have liked to see more from Lowe, who didn't testify in Joe Exotic's trial. "I really wish we would have heard something from Jeff Lowe," she said. "He never testified. In deliberations that was brought up—we didn't get to hear his opinion or the exact role he did play."

The conversation has accelerated so far that President Donald Trump even claimed he'd "take a look" at pardoning Joe Exotic after Tiger King, in a press conference according to The Hollywood Reporter. Kristin claimed that comment from Trump just seemed like a passing remark, though.

In all, Kristin said Tiger King wasn't edited fairly. "The docuseries is really not even close to what we saw in court," she said.

Later, she added: "People need to remember that it was more like a docu-drama than a documentary. They didn't give all of the evidence at all. The jury wouldn't have convicted him based on what the average viewer saw. It's easy to feel sorry for him, but they didn't get to see what we saw."