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Joe Exotic is in a desperate situation ... he's isolated in the bowels of a federal prison, unable to fight the government in his $89 million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit, and he's begging the judge for access to a computer and the law library.

The "Tiger King" star just filed a handwritten legal doc, telling the judge he's running out of time to respond to the government's legal docs in the civil lawsuit. Joe says he can't respond without the proper tools, so he wants another 30 days.

Joe says he's been isolated at the Federal Medical Center ... he can't phone anyone, email them ... he has no access to the outside world.

This syncs up with our TMZ Investigation, which aired on Fox last Monday. We were told he was in isolation because inmates from the previous facility where Joe was housed tested positive for the virus. The prison disputes it, but for some reason, he's still in quarantine. His people say Joe is virus-free.

Joe is also appealing his conviction. He has some interesting arguments ... among them, "did the prosecutor throw in animal abuse charges in the murder-for-hire trial just to unfairly prejudice the jury so he'd get convicted?" And, if you saw the special, it's interesting that "hitman" and star prosecution witness Allen Glover revealed a bias by saying he delivered payback to Joe and wished he could have done more to hurt him.

Joe Exotic's infamous pizza venture lives on at another famous joint known for making pies -- and it's even plastered Joe's mug all over the new creation.

Behold the "Dough Exotic" ... the hilarious new menu option whipped up by Tony Boloney's in NJ. It's a giant square pizza made to look like tiger print at first -- but when it's ready to come out of the oven ... bam! It's your good friend, Joe!!!

Specifically, it's Joe's mug shot from when he got busted by the feds for the attempted murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis, Carole Baskin.

See the resemblance?

Tony Boloney's describes the wacky recipe this way -- "This pizza is so big it’s enough to feed all of Doc Antle’s sister wives and we will never financially recover from this! This pizza has bunny blood sauce, a hint of sardine oil, cheese and meat, (but not expired Wal Mart meat out of the back of a truck)."

You'll recall ... Joe and co. dished out some gnarly pies that, by their own admission, included old meat they got free from Walmart.

Anyway, the description's obviously a joke -- Tony's real ingredients consist of prosciutto, vodka sauce, mozzarella and balsamic honey. It's being sold at the pizza joint's Hoboken location.

BTW, Tony's been helping out with the COVID-19 relief effort ... donating hundreds of meals a week to first responders and health care workers.

California officials will vote on a renewed hot button issue -- protecting local big cats -- and you gotta imagine ... 'Tiger King' will be at the forefront of everybody's minds for it.

The California Fish and Game Commission is scheduled to have the matter before them on Thursday, where they'll decide if mountain lions in Southern and Central California deserve state-mandated protections afforded to animals under the Endangered Species Act.

The effort to get these West Coast big cats that protection has been in the works for about a year, with several environmentalists, zoologists and different animal foundations having submitted petitions to move the item forward. Now, it's on the Commission's agenda.

Of course, the vote probably couldn't have at a better time ... seeing how Joe Exotic and co. just swept the nation and has most everyone -- especially Californians -- talking about tigers, lions and the like. Long story short ... we fully anticipate hearing 'Tiger King' on Thursday.

As for what these protections will do if passed by the CFGC ... it'll actually be a great boon to keeping mountain lions alive as humans continue to build out our own world. According to the Center for Biological Diversity -- which is helping spearhead the vote -- mountain lions could potentially get their own wildlife crossings built ... above freeways.

There are other protections the big cats would receive, and frankly ... it sounds like a great idea. The question now ... how much thanks would Joe and his tigers get if this goes through?

Carole Baskin took just about everything from Joe Exotic, but she didn't get the shirt off his back -- that belongs to one eBay user who's trying to hawk it for a quick (and pricey) buck.

Yes, one of Joe's own personal sequin tops (blouses?) is up for grabs on the famous auction site -- and the best part is that it was even featured on Netflix's 'Tiger King.' Cooool!!! The only downside ... it's going for a pretty penny. The opening bid right now is $650.

The shirt's owner, Vincent Baran, tells TMZ he came across the rare JE artifact surfing the web 2 weeks ago. He says he noticed Joe's old stomping grounds, The Greater Wynnewood (G.W.) Zoo, was offering a bunch of Joe's shirts on Facebook to whoever wanted 'em ... for a price. Way cheaper than what he's charging now though.

Vince says G.W. only wanted $100 for an article of Joe's clothing -- now, the dude's attempting to flip it on eBay for at least 5 times that amount ... and he thinks it'll go for way more than the listed price. The reason ... he says he's seen other Joe Exotic items sell well online.

VB tells us he recently spotted one of Joe's many hats hit the digital marketplace for a cool $800, so he believes he can get his money's worth for something worn on the man's own torso.

Time will tell if people are buyin' what Vince is sellin' ... so far, he's got zero bids. Hang in there, bud ... just like that shirt did for a damn good while in Joe's abandoned closet. 😅

Joe Exotic was a master magician with a huge bag of tricks, according to his old magic promos -- but of course, he still couldn't make Carole Baskin disappear.

TMZ's obtained some never-before-seen footage of Joe's old magic show ... from a 6-minute highlight reel. The promo was never intended for the public, but for the venues where Joe booked his high-paying gigs.

As you know, the 'Tiger King' star had a traveling tiger and magic show in addition to his zoo, and he made tons of stops at malls, shopping centers and theaters across the country ... before Carole got involved.

Joe's promo is everything you would expect from the entertainment genius ... it's called, "Mystical of The Endangered," and it shows Joe performing magic with tons of exotic beasts.

There's sword tricks, pyrotechnics, a mime, vanishing, illusions and lots and lots of animals ... tigers, snakes and parrots, oh my!

JP Wilson, the magician from 'Tiger King,' tells TMZ ... he met Joe back in 2004 during a magic show in Norman, OK where Joe supplied him with a tiger. JP says Joe was so impressed with his magic, Exotic brought him on tour.

Eventually, Joe wanted to be the magician and JP says he taught him some tricks. Joe and JP worked together for years, until Carole and the animal rights folks shut down Joe's traveling performances.

JP says he remained close with Joe and would visit the zoo a couple times a year, even sponsoring a tiger at one point.

The wildest part ... JP firmly believes if Carole and the animal rights people didn't get Joe's traveling show shut down, and cut off his main source of income, Joe wouldn't have been forced into breeding tigers.

"Love Is Blind" star Carlton Morton is playing a game of love-ya-today, trash-ya-tomorrow with his one-time fiancee, which is why she's kicked him to the curb ... for good.

Diamond Jack tells TMZ why she recently took the extreme measure of blocking Carlton on social media. He's been barking about it on his page, as he openly pines for her to take him back. She says there's a pretty simple reason for her cutting him off.

Diamond says Carlton was all hugs and smiles with her during the reunion episode, but as soon as cameras stopped rolling ... she claims he turned into Mr. Hyde, and allegedly started bad-mouthing her online and threatening her with legal action.

That was enough for Diamond to completely ax him from her feed. But, there's a bigger reason she thinks he's allegedly been flip-flopping, and it has to do with the forthcoming second season -- which we already know Carlton is openly lobbying to join.

As we reported, the casting call for a new season has already gone out -- and producers are prodding about sexual orientation this time around.

Makes sense, seeing how Carlton's bisexuality utterly blew up his and Diamond's relationship during Season 1.

Speaking of that, Diamond weighs in on the new screening question for the new batch of pod-people. Basically, she sees it as a pivot from a lesson learned more than anything else.

Joe Exotic's antics on 'Tiger King' have already made him a pop culture icon, but don't forget ... he's also a musician -- sort of -- and the popularity of his tunes is soaring too.

A rep for Spotify tells TMZ ... ever since Joe's track, "I Saw a Tiger," was added to the platform on March 30, he's gained listeners in every single one of Spotify's 79 markets.

As for which market's clamoring for the song the most ... the answer is Denmark!!! Yeah, go figure. We're told the Danish folks are streaming it at a higher rate than any other country, followed by people in the UK, Ireland and Iceland.

Americans, however, have listened to it the most times ... primarily thanks to a much larger population, but ya gotta believe it's because Joe is one of our own.

North Dakota's ranked as the state listening to Exotic at the highest rate, followed by Mississippi, Montana, Kentucky and West Virginia. For what it's worth ... Nevada, Hawaii and California are listening the least.

Spotify says along with his vast reach increase over the past 2 weeks, Exotic's averaging an 18 percent DAILY increase with his share of streams. We're told millennials are his biggest fans -- ages 25-29 are consuming Joe's music at the highest rate, followed by the 30-34 age range.

Of course, all of this is besides the fact the infamous imprisoned tiger breeder doesn't even write or sing his own songs ... that's all done by The Clinton Johnson Band. As we first told you ... the band's hoping to cash in on Joe's success too.

For more on 'Tiger King' ... check out a 'TMZ Investigates' special tonight on FOX at 9/8c.

The biggest mystery in Netflix's 'Tiger King' is whether Don Lewis was murdered and, if so, who did him in.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister tells TMZ, he's convinced one person could NOT have committed the 1997 murder ... he says someone must have helped and someone got paid.

Although Hillsborough says Don's wife, Carole Baskin, is NOT a suspect or person of interest, he tells us he's suspicious of her and he's also suspicious of others. Watch FOX Monday night at 9 PM for our special, "TMZ Investigates, Tiger King: What Really Went Down?" He explains exactly why he's suspicious.

The Sheriff's looking for someone to come forward -- maybe someone who helped who wants to clear his or her conscience -- and spill the beans.

Sheriff Chronister also makes it clear ... he's willing to deal with anyone who has info, and immunity is on the table.

Carole has strongly maintained she had nothing to do with Don's disappearance.

Joe Exotic's former campaign manager wants to do for Joe Biden what he did for the 'Tiger King' star -- raise tons of cash with some wild fundraising parties.

Joshua Dial, who ran Joe's failed campaign for governor of Oklahoma, and was heavily featured in the Netflix docuseries, tells TMZ ... Joe's campaign would regularly rake in $5,000 to $10,000 for tiger parties catering to rich folks.

Joshua says they would load a baby tiger into a cage in the back of a van and haul it off to private parties for rich donors ... who gladly paid top dollar to party the night away and play with the tiger cub.

The tiger fundraiser parties were a huge hit, and Joshua says they organized several of them during Joe's 2018 campaign.

Carlton Morton wants to be bi-seasonal ... the "Love is Blind" star tells us he wants to bring back his bisexual storyline for the second season of the reality show.

Carlton tells TMZ ... he wants to find love and is still looking for his match, and he would be more than open to coming back for a second helping of "Love is Blind" if the producers are onboard.

As you know ... Carlton shot to fame on the Netflix show's debut season, but for all the wrong reasons. He didn't tell Diamond he was bisexual until AFTER he proposed, leading to an epic spat.

Carlton says he's even been approached about his own spin-off show ... but he tells us he would totally settle for a second shot on "Love is Blind."

It's good to see Carlton in good spirits ... when we last caught up with him, he was seeking therapy after a cry for help and a 911 call.

As we first reported ... "Love is Blind" is already casting for season two, and the casting company is asking potential contestants about their sexual orientations.

Carlton thinks "Love is Blind" wants more contestants from the LGBT community ... not less, and he gives the show props for being all-inclusive.

Carlton's ready to head for a pod at the drop of a hat ... and he's also got a message for his ex-fiance.

Joe Exotic is officially on the White House's radar now -- thanks to a reporter asking President Trump if he plans to pardon the 'Tiger King' star and convicted felon.

The bizarre exchange went down Wednesday during, of all things, the coronavirus taskforce briefing. The reporter asked Trump if he's heard of the popular Netflix series, and, if so, might he consider commuting Joe's 22-year prison sentence.

The reporter told the Prez ... his son, Don Jr., joked during a radio interview he'd lobby POTUS to pardon Joe Exotic for the memes "and just for frankly watching the media reaction to this thing."

It's actually pretty hilarious ... Trump asked which son made that comment before answering in signature fashion, saying, "I know nothing about it." That didn't stop him from also saying he'd look into it. For good measure ... he also asked CNN's Jim Acosta -- a reporter Trump often feuds with -- if he thought a pardon was a good idea.

he says those comments were just about the crimes joe committed, so there's no reason to step away based on them

Joe Exotic wants a new judge to preside over his civil lawsuit, 'cause he says the robe has already shown he's a homophobe who has it out for your boy.

The 'Tiger King' star -- who's currently locked up -- filed a new motion this week asking Judge Scott Palk to recuse himself from a lawsuit Joe filed a few weeks ago against the feds.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Joe argues Judge Palk has already presided over other civil cases Joe's been involved in over the years -- and not just the ones depicted on Netflix between himself and nemesis Carole Baskin.

Joe claims Palk has a tainted view, and also hurls accusations at him ... saying Palk has proven he's a gung-ho animal rights activist and homophobic. JE pegged the judge's tone with him during proceedings as "hostile" and "agitated."

Specifically, Joe claims the judge told him ... "I will make sure you are never around another animal the rest of your life." Joe also alleges the judge said, "You were trying to broker a pair of lions to support your husband from jail."

Joe denies that, BTW, and adds even if it were true ... it'd be completely legal in Texas.

In any case, Joe seems to think Judge Palk -- who's currently set to weigh in on his newest lawsuit -- has a grudge against him, and he wants a fresh start with someone else.

Jeff Lowe -- Joe Exotic's ex-business partner and mentor -- raised eyebrows on 'Tiger King' over his search for a nanny and has folks speculating it's all a stunt ... but the nanny in question tells TMZ -- she's legit, just not full-time.

Masha Diduk is the hot nanny Jeff and his pregnant wife, Lauren, wanted to hire on the Netflix docuseries, and Masha tells us ... she was indeed hired by the couple in September to care for their daughter.

She says she actually met Jeff and Lauren 4 years ago in Las Vegas -- where she lives and works as a model -- back when they drove to Sin City with a few tiger cubs ... as those who have seen 'Tiger King' recall.

We're told Masha's agreement was to work part-time as their baby girl's caretaker during business hours at Jeff's Oklahoma zoo -- mostly on weekends -- which she's been doing recently.

The nanny recently appeared with Jeff, Lauren and the baby on "Lights Out with David Spade," and rumors began swirling she was paid by Jeff to be there simply for the TV interview ... but she says that's not true.

Masha tells us her Vegas work has dried up because of the pandemic -- and Jeff's been busy moving the zoo to a new location -- so she really has been with the family taking care of baby Sarah.

Granted, the timing with the release and popularity of 'Tiger King' is suspicious at best.

As for 'Tiger King' ... Masha says it's entertaining, but she feels the producers twisted some things about Jeff. She says it made it seem like Jeff mistreated animals the way Joe Exotic did, but that's wrong ... and she wouldn't work for him if he did.

Leave it to Jeff Lowe to let the cats out of the bag -- there's a bonus episode of 'Tiger King' coming to Netflix.

Joe Exotic's ex-business partner spilled the tea -- yet again -- during a cameo video message for Dodgers star Justin Turner. Jeff and his wife, Lauren, say they heard Justin was a big fan of the docuseries. They gave him a good ribbing about that, and then dropped the bombshell.

Jeff says Netflix producers will be shooting at his home on Sunday, and the footage will be used for a new episode dropping next week.

Makes sense Netflix would strike while the iron's piping hot. The series is Netflix's #1 show right now, and there are endless loose ends to address.

For instance, Jeff was raided by the feds last year ... something mentioned at the end of 'Tiger King,' but with no further detail. Only makes sense, the guy who snitched on Joe Exotic had to be the one to blab about the new episode.

"Love is Blind" contestants might be blindsided by their fiance's sexual orientation, but the shot callers sure won't ... they're already asking potential cast members how they identify.

Here's the deal ... the popular Netflix reality dating show was recently renewed for a second season and is currently casting in the Chicago area, with producers asking a pretty personal and important question: What's your sexual orientation???

Remember, it became a huge deal first season ... Carlton didn't tell Diamond he was bisexual until AFTER they got engaged, leading to an epic spat and some much-needed therapy.

The questionnaire asks potential cast members if they consider themselves straight, gay, bisexual or other.

The other casting questions are pretty standard ... age, ethnicity, hair color, eye color, occupation, hobbies etc. Casting also wants face photos and complete body shots.

There's also questions about dating status, where the applicant meets prospective mates, what qualities they look for and deal-breakers like religion, ethnicity and cultural differences.

The casting call also asks about cigarette and alcohol use, desired and undesired physical traits in a partner, and descriptions of current dating history and longest relationships.

Interesting ... no questions about politics, which has become a tried-and-true dealbreaker.

The big question now ... do producers want another Carlton situation or not?!?