Just when you thought you were done hearing about Tiger King's Joe Exotic, not to mention soon-to-be-booted US President Donald Trump, there's more. Because of course there is. Apparently Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is this close to getting a presidential pardon.

"We are waiting on the pen to hit the paper," Exotic's attorney Eric Love told the ABC News (in the US) about the potential presidential pardon. "We think we are very, very close."

Exotic, if you didn't know, is currently serving a 22-year sentence after being found guilty of a number of crimes including, most famously, a murder for hire plot against Carole Baskin.

The Netflix docuseries on him, Carole and another shady character, zookeeper Jeff Lowe, had accidentally documented most of it, all leading up to Exotic's arrest. Should he get a presidential pardon, the punishment for his crimes will be totally set aside meaning he'll be released from jail and allowed to walk free. Which is pretty controversial, if you ask me.

"If President Trump grants me this miracle, I can honestly say I am putting everyone connected to that zoo and that industry behind," Exotic wrote on his Insta via his lawyers. "I am taking the higher road and will work on forgiving them. They've got a much bigger man and karma to deal with one day than me and God knows everything."

Exotic continued: "I will spend every minute of my life making this up to my husband, using my platform to help sick children around the world, the homeless and fighting for change in this justice system."

"I can't let the people of my past waste another moment of my life ever again so I lose out on anything like I lost out on saying goodbye to my mom. Carole and all the rest who thrive on controlling others' lives can go on about their way without me."

Elsewhere, Jeff Lowe, who took over Exotic's Oklahoma zoo, is in the midst of getting sued for "recurring inhumane treatment and improper handling" of tigers and lions and for "illegally taking, possessing and transporting protected animals" including grizzly bears and ring-tailed lemurs.

Netflix's reportedly secured the rights to a second season of Tiger King, so we'll be sure to keep you across all the updates on the colourful cast then.

Written by Sangeeta Kocharekar, an American-born, Sydney-based writer at MTV. Photos from her pre-COVID-19 days as a travel writer are here.