Cardi B (L) vowed to raise funds for jailed Tiger King star Joe Exotic through a GoFundMe page, but the platform refused her plea. (Kevin Mazur via Getty Images/Netflix)
Cardi B has pledged to start a GoFundMe to raise funds for jailed Tiger King star Joe Exotic, currently serving 22 years in federal prison for, well, two counts of murder-for-hire and 17 other wildlife-related charges.
It’s somewhat reassuring that as countless people around the world wear the same stained sweatpants for three days straight and their sole source of entertainment becomes a docu-series about a “gun-toting gay redneck” who owns a roadside petting zoo, that Cardi B is not exempt from this reality.
The rapper, who has stans are so committed they would threaten divorce if their partners don’t stan with them, claimed on Twitter last weekend that she has started to watched Tiger King.
But her efforts to “free” the face of GW Exotic Animal Park was squashed by GoFundMe as, due to the platform’s regulations, fundraisers cannot assist, uh, convicted criminals, TMZ reported.
Cardi B: ‘Bout to start a GoFundMe for Joe. He shall be free.’
The 27-year-old tweeted a string of messages on Saturday and Sunday that she’s started tuning-into Tiger King.
Asking her followers what they thought of the series, she admitted getting lost because, in prime Cardi B energy, she was having sex while it was on.
What ya think bout TigerKing? I’m on the second episode and I’m alittle lost cause I started fucking 😩😒.
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 27, 2020
She later gave her thoughts on the show, primarily between “narcissist Joe” and “greedy Carole”, the latter being Carole Baskin, the animal rights activist Exotic plotted to murder.
Who you think is more wrong ? Narcissist joe ? Or Greedy Carol ? And why ?
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 27, 2020
PETA even chimed in during this.
Narcissist Joe. We know first-hand how wild and cruel it was 🤯 PETA helped rescue 39 tigers, 3 bears, 2 baboons, and 2 chimpanzees from #TigerKing subject Joe Exotic’s hellhole roadside zoo. https://t.co/90gvyp7Tuw
— PETA (@peta) March 28, 2020
Cardi, in-between live-tweeting her reactions to the seven-art series, also retweeted some fan responses which, well, we have no comment.
CARDI EXOTIC 💅🏼🐅🐅🐅 pic.twitter.com/29yiEixv6R
— Mister Morris (@mistermorris55) March 27, 2020
— Jᴇɴ♡ – fan account (@ribbononmybox) March 27, 2020
It eventually became clear that she was team Joe, and vowed to raise money for the wrangler as she claimed he had been wrongfully imprisoned.
Bout to start a gofundme account for Joe .He shall be free.
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 28, 2020
However, GoFundMe’s regulations means that money cannot be raised on its platform to fund the defence of inmates convicted of violent crimes, a representative said.
Cardi B U-turns on raising money for Tiger King star Joe Exotic.
The outlet also reported that a GoFundMe account in the Grammy winner’s name had been made to start a fundraiser, but GoFundMe administrators yanked it off.
Cardi’s people clarified to TMZ that this account was in no way affiliated with her.
When reported on by TMZ, Cardi herself responded and backtracked on her previous promise.
Omg 😩😩😩😂😂I was just playing 🥴I do love him tho and he deff needed better representation .oooooooooooooooooo here Kitty Kitty https://t.co/cstMiCrMUb
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) March 30, 2020
She tweeted Tuesday to her 10.8 million followers: “I was just playing.
“I do love him, though, and he deff needed better [legal] representation.
“Oooooooooooooooooo, here Kitty Kitty.”
Exotic, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was convicted aged 56 last April on two counts of murder-for-hire, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.
The Oklahoma man, prosecutors said, paid a man $3,000 to go to Florida to kill Baskin in February 2017.