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Joe Exotic's actually way more disturbing than the 'Tiger King' documentary makes him out to be, at least according to the guy who lived at the zoo for a year and helped make Joe a star.

Producer Rick Kirkham joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and said the wildly-popular Netflix series is frighteningly accurate -- but still only scratches the surface of Joe's crazy lifestyle.

Check out the video ... Rick recalled the time "a poor old woman drove in with a horse trailer" asking Joe to take over caring for the horse on the grounds of his zoo in Oklahoma. He claims Joe told her he'd offer the horse lots of green pasture -- but as soon as she left, he instead did something horrifying.

If you've seen the documentary, you'll recall Rick produced Joe's online reality series and even gave him the nickname Tiger King. He says Joe even wanted him to record the horse incident. As fans know, almost all of Rick's footage burned up in a mysterious fire at the zoo.

Rick also has some strong feelings about Carole Baskin ... and the allegations she was involved in her husband's unsolved murder.

Safe to say, after everything he saw firsthand, Rick's no fan of Joe or Carole.

Even online gamblers are sinking their claws into the 'Tiger King' -- and bookies have a strong hunch about who should don the mullet and leg brace in a feature film.

The oddsmakers at SportsBetting.ag have a list of A-listers they want folks to place bets on to play Joe Exotic ... who's become a worldwide phenomenon with the Netflix documentary. Their first choice won't surprise you much, but the underdog might.

The odds-on favorite is ... Kevin Bacon! If you place $100 on him, you'd only get $150 if he landed the role. Next is Ed Norton, who'd earn you $250 on a $100 bet. After that, it's Billy Bob Thornton and David Spade, who'd pay out $300 and $400, respectively, if they were cast.

As for your long shot ... that's Mr. Ben Stiller.

Btw, there’s a catch ... the film’s gotta be released by 2021 or sooner.

Of course, the gambling world offers equal opportunity ... to lose your money ... so folks are also weighing in on who plays Joe's archnemesis, Carole Baskin.

The favorite is Wendi McLendon-Covey (Deputy Johnson from 'Reno 911!') at an even split of +100 -- so you'd break even on a $100 bet. Down the line in order from most to least likely to land the part -- Allison Janney at +300, Kristen Wiig at +300, Jennifer Coolidge at +500 and finally, Laura Dern at +600.

There's other interesting 'Tiger King' categories over at MyBookie -- stuff like whether Joe will get a presidential pardon and will Carole be found guilty of murdering her husband.

Is Shaquille O'Neal video chat buddies with Jeff Lowe from 'Tiger King?'

That's what Lowe wants us to believe ... and now PETA is calling on the NBA legend to cut ties with the Oklahoma zoo owner ASAP claiming he's just as bad as Joe Exotic.

If you recall from the Netflix doc, Lowe owns the Greater Wynnewood Animal Park in Oklahoma ... and just a few weeks ago, the zoo posted a screengrab which appears to show a FaceTime call between Shaq and Lowe.

"One of the nicest guys in the World," the G.W. Animal Park posted on Facebook on March 21 ... "Shaq facetime’d a few minutes ago to see how we were doing and if we need anything. We love you too buddy."

Shocking, considering Shaq just went on his podcast a few days ago and tried to distance himself from the park and former owner, Joe Exotic.

In fact, Shaq said he "stopped going" to the zoo when he found out what was really happening behind the scenes.

Now, PETA is begging the NBA legend to disavow Jeff Lowe the same way he disavowed Joe Exotic ... firing off a letter to Shaq explaining their position.

"It appears that the equally problematic wild animal exhibitor Jeff Lowe is now claiming to have your support, PETA said to Shaq.

"Lowe is no different from Joe Exotic when it comes to harming animals."

PETA points out Lowe "has a long history of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act" -- and there's still an active warrant for Lowe in Nevada stemming from Lowe's failed tiger-petting business (which was also mentioned in the Netflix doc).

"It's clear that you love tigers, and we hope you will dissociate yourself from people who profit from abusing, breeding, and exploiting them," PETA said to Shaq in the letter, obtained by TMZ Sports.

"Will you please make it clear right away that you don't desire to have an ongoing relationship with Lowe? As long as he continues to use your name to support his abusive business, you will be tied to animal suffering."

"Instead, please help these tigers. Help us shut down these hellholes, move the animals to reputable sanctuaries, and keep them out of the hands of abusers."

We've reached out to Shaq for comment. So far, no word back.

The case of 'Tiger King' star Carole Baskin's dead husband has fresh eyes on it now, which is welcome news to his lawyer ... who says he's eager to help authorities uncover the truth.

Joe Fritz was the attorney for Don Lewis, Carole's deceased husband ... who was last seen in August 1997. Joe tells TMZ ... he's ecstatic the Hillsborough County Sheriff in Florida is looking into Don's disappearance ... on the heels of the immensely popular Netflix docuseries. He says the more attention the case gets, the better.

Fritz wasn't just Don's lawyer before he went missing, he was his friend, and says there's much more to the story -- and he wants to share everything he knows with cops.

So far, he says they haven't contacted him, but if they do, "I would bring them in my home in a heartbeat and offer them a beer."

As we reported ... the Sheriff is hoping to capitalize on the Netflix series about tiger breeders and Baskin, by asking the public for leads in her former husband's case.

For those who haven't seen it ... Lewis was declared dead 5 years after he disappeared, and folks like Joe Exotic believe Baskin killed him. She's denied any wrongdoing.

Fritz tells us he couldn't believe it when he saw the case was getting reopened, but he thanks social media and the 'Tiger King' buzz for making it happen.

He adds that he's not looking for closure. Joe says it's no secret what happened to Don -- claiming he's heard the true story of what went down and accepts it -- but he wants the truth to prevail and justice to be served for his friend.

As for the docuseries ... Joe says it did a pretty good job telling the story of the big cat people, but he thinks it could have spent more time focusing on Don’s disappearance and debunking Baskin's Costa Rica story.

Tichina Arnold is gonna blow your mind in the first movie produced by Netflix and the WWE ... 'cause she's gonna change your concept of what grandmothers look like.

Tichina was on Tuesday's "TMZ Live" to talk about "The Main Event," when the conversation quickly turned to that old saying ... Black don't crack!!! See, she's playing grandma -- or as she puts it, G-ma -- to an 11-year-old kid who gets his shot to become a WWE superstar.

You gotta see what happened when we brought up her role ... mistakenly thinking she's playing the kid's mom. Ooops!!! Big time.

Hey, honest mistake ... because nothing about Tichina looks grandmotherly, but we had some big laughs with her talking about it. She also confessed while Black may not crack it does do something else. Watch.

BTW, TA is hosting a live virtual premiere for 'Main Event' from her social media pages ... which you can check out next Friday, April 10.

We can testify, hanging with Tichina, even virtually, is a blast ... check out Tuesday's "TMZ Live" if ya don't believe us.

Joe Exotic has bitched and moaned about lots of things but this rant may -- or may not -- shock you the most ... he was once pissed he couldn't use the n-word. Still love him, Cardi B?!

Some old footage from 2015 resurfaced showing the "Tiger King" star complaining ... "What's going on in this country? It's absolutely pathetic. I can't say the n-word but you can get on YouTube and watch any black man's video and they're calling each other the n-word. What the hell?"

Joe went on to theorize, "Is this discrimination? I'm white, I can't say the n-word and they can?" The footage appears to be from his old online reality series "Joe Exotic TV" but it's only now hitting the fan ... due to the popularity of the Netflix documentary.

Joe Exotic, of course, is the tiger breeder featured in the wildly popular Netflix docuseries "Tiger King." The former owner of a once-popular zoo in Oklahoma has been behind bars since he was found guilty in a 2019 murder-for-hire plot.

He recently filed a lawsuit claiming there's a huge conspiracy behind him getting locked up. Cardi B vowed to start a GoFundMe to help free Joe Exotic. She has since said she was just kidding about the GoFundMe but added she still loves him.

Awkward?

If Cardi B was serious about raising cash for Joe Exotic via GoFundMe, she's about to be stopped in her tiger tracks ... because the company won't allow it.

Money CANNOT be raised on its platform to fund the defense of inmates convicted of violent crimes, plain and simple ... this according to a GFM rep. It's in their terms of service and everyone, including Cardi, who uses GoFundMe has to abide.

Of course, the 'Tiger King' star is in prison after a jury found him guilty in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his archnemesis, Carole Baskin. He was also convicted of animal-related crimes.

Funny enough, not too long after Cardi vowed to free Joe via GoFundMe, an actual account with her name popped up to do just that. It's been yanked, though ... and the $100 it raised was refunded. We're told it was a bogus account, NOT associated with the real CB.

Cardi seems to be fully wrapped up in the docuseries, like many of us, and might have been joking about launching a Free Joe campaign. If she, or anyone else, is serious ... GoFundMe won't be a party to it.

It would be incredibly cruel for Kate McKinnon to use real cats for her new show ... so says "Tiger King" star Carole Baskin who implores the actress to choose a different route.

A rep for Carole's Big Cat Rescue tells TMZ ... the org would very much feel like it would be cruel to use real big cats in a television series about cruelty to big cats. The org suggests Kate to instead utilize computer-generated imagery (CGI) of cats in the show rather than forcing real big cats to suffer just to entertain the audience.

ICYMI ... Kate -- who plans to star as Carole -- has had a project in the works since November based on the popular Wondery podcast, "Joe Exotic." The enormously popular Netflix doc "Tiger King" has since turned Kate's project a hot commodity, but she's also now in the crosshairs of wild animal conservationists.

The rep for Big Cat Rescue says, "We hope McKinnon has a passion for animals and that her series will focus on the horrible lives captive big cats lead when exploited by breeders like Joe Exotic. We further hope she urges the public to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act that would end the cub petting abuse in America."

PETA, which for years had been working to shut down Joe Exotic, has also come out echoing Big Cat Rescue's sentiments ... pleading with Kate and her producers "to use only CGI, animatronics, or even existing footage of big cats and other animals."

Of all the crazy storylines on the Netflix docuseries, "Tiger King," none are more captivating than what happened to Carole Baskin's husband ... and law enforcement's asking for help in cracking the case.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says the disappearance of Jack "Don" Lewis -- Baskin's hubby who was last seen on August 18, 1997 -- is still an active cold case ... and he's hoping "Tiger King" fans can help him solve it.

The Tampa-area sheriff says with all the attention surrounding Don's case ... "I figured it was time to use the popularity of the show to see if anyone wanted to come forward with new leads."

For those who don't know ... Lewis was declared legally dead 5 years after his disappearance, but nobody has ever been charged in his death or has any clue of his whereabouts.

People have theories, though ... especially "Tiger King" star and Baskin's #1 enemy, Joe Exotic, who believes she killed her husband and possibly fed him to her tigers. Baskin has denied having anything to do with Don's disappearance or death.

Nevertheless, Sheriff Chronister's asking "Tiger King" enthusiasts to spread the word to see if it leads to any new information that can finally crack the cold case.

Shaquille O'Neal wants to make it clear -- he does NOT support Joe Exotic or the GW Zoo, despite the way it looked in the Netflix docuseries, "Tiger King."

One of the big moments in the series was when Shaq not only visited the GW Zoo back in the day -- but he then gave Joe Exotic a plug on "Inside the NBA." Shaq says he's visited the zoo several times and even appeared on Joe's reality show in 2014.

People have been critical of Shaq -- since the doc paints Joe as a scumbag who mistreated the animals at his Oklahoma facility. Also, he's accused of trying to put a hit out on a rival tiger sanctuary owner. Bad stuff.

But, Shaq addressed the situation on "The Big Podcast with Shaq" -- and claimed he had NO IDEA things were as bad as they were at the zoo.

"I was just a visitor. I met this guy. Not my friend. Don’t know him. Never had any business dealings with him, and I had no idea any of that stuff was going on," Shaq said.

The NBA legend admits he made donations to the zoo -- claiming he does stuff like that all the time -- but would never support the mistreatment of animals.

"People that know me know that I'm righteous. I don't harm tigers. I love tigers."

"We found out that he’s involved with all the stuff, and then, actually, I stopped going.”

Shaq says he really likes the show -- he's binged watched it -- saying, "It's actually a really good documentary."

Many 'Tiger King' fans were stunned to find out Joe Exotic doesn't sing his own songs, but there's a real band behind those cat-themed country tunes ... and it hopes the hit Netflix docuseries leads to a record deal.

For those who haven't watched yet ... zoo owner/big cat breeder Joe Exotic flaunts his country music songs and videos on 'Tiger King,' but it turns out he's just lip-syncing and pretending to play the guitar. The real performers are The Clinton Johnson Band.

One-half of the country group, Vince Johnson, tells TMZ ... since the documentary premiered and became a smashing success, lots of journalists and media outlets have reached out to him ... but he'd prefer to get some calls from music labels. So far, no luck.

Vince says that's a shame, because he and the other half of the band, Danny Clinton, recorded 3 albums worth of songs before Danny passed away in October from a heart-related issue.

We're told their tracks are a lot like the ones they did for Joe in 'Tiger King' ... except they're not cat-related.

Vince tells us the band's had some prior success getting their work featured in some small films and TV shows like "Justified," but he believes 'Tiger King' could really be a big break ... and help him become a big cat in the music biz.

As for how The CB Band -- from Vancouver, Washington -- got linked up with the Oklahoma zoo extraordinaire ... Vince tells us they simply responded to one of Joe's ads to make a theme song for Joe's TV show and park, and it evolved from there.

He says how it worked was Exotic would give Vince a theme and some details, he'd write a tune and Danny would sing it. Then they'd email it to Joe.

The band did about 20 songs for Joe, Vince says, and as far as he knows ... Joe has never professionally sung or played an instrument in his life.

BTW -- Vince hasn't watched 'Tiger King' yet, but plans on it soon.

The incarcerated Joe Exotic has one new champion in his corner -- and it's someone with a big voice and a major platform ... one Cardi B, who says she wants him freed.

The NY rapper went on a Twitter rant late-Friday night, with a bunch of messages in support of the 'Tiger King' star -- who's currently locked up for allegedly attempting to facilitate the murder of his onscreen nemesis, Carole Baskin, who Cardi doesn't like either.

She wrote of Baskin -- who runs a big cat animal rescue out of Florida, seemingly on the up-and-up -- with contempt, saying ... "Carol you think you slick bitch 😑😑😑😑." CB went on to say, "Who you think is more wrong? Narcissist joe? Or Greedy Carol? And Why?"

Very Trump-like, eh? BTW, Cardi also retweeted a meme that perpetuated a theory floated throughout the entire docuseries ... that Carole might've had her multi-millionaire husband killed and fed him to the tigers they had. She's vehemently denied that several times, and no evidence ever suggested she did that. No arrests were ever made in the case either.

The biggest vote of confidence, however, came when Cardi tweeted that she was itching to start a GoFundMe account for Joe, adding ... "He shall be free." Seems like she sympathized with his side of the story -- even though he was convicted and ultimately jailed.

As we reported ... Joe filed a $94 million lawsuit from prison pretty recently, accusing different governmental agencies of railroading him and allegedly discriminating against him with the animal cruelty charges he got slapped with and for which he was convicted.

John Finlay -- one of the stars of the hit Netflix docuseries 'Tiger King' and Joe Exotic's ex-husband -- has a nice new set of pearly whites ... that almost make him look like a different person.

John tells TMZ ... he actually got his teeth redone in July 2019 all at once -- they're dentures -- and he's a little miffed at Netflix and the filmmakers because they never showed it.

We're told there's plenty of footage and photos of John fixing his smile but for whatever reason ... none of it made the final cut of 'Tiger King.'

Finlay also wants to clarify something about his gnarly teeth -- they weren't the result of meth abuse. Though John admits meth was a drug of choice for him in the doc, we're told his teeth were messed up before that, due to genetic reasons. He told us he has not touched drugs in 6 years.

John is currently working as a welder and living in central Oklahoma with his fiancee Stormey. We're told she's the one with John at the end of the series when he's getting his Joe Exotic tattoo reworked.

As for why Finlay's shirtless the entire time he's being interviewed on 'Tiger King' ... our sources say that was the idea of one of the producers, and John went with it.

For more on Finlay, ya gotta watch 'Tiger King' on Netflix, and also check out the podcast "Joe Exotic: Tiger King" by Robert Moor on Joe Exotic's story ... including more with John.