Joe Exotic Says Todd and Julie Chrisley’s Pardons Give Him ‘Hope’

After President Donald Trump pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley, Joe Exotic is hoping he can be the next inmate released from prison.

“It does give me hope,” Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — exclusively shared with Us Weekly. “I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost my entire work career of building that zoo. My parents have died. My house is destroyed. I have no clothes or anything left anymore. And I’ve done almost eight years in prison for a bunch of people.”

Exotic, 62, is currently serving a 21-year federal prison sentence following an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving rival Carole Baskin. He has frequently pleaded for Trump, 79, to pardon him and release him from prison.

“If President Trump wants to do the right thing, at least sign my clemency. I have a clemency application,” Exotic told Us. “I don’t need a pardon. I just wanna go home. … I don’t need to carry a gun, and I don’t do drugs. I don’t drink so sign my clemency as time served with no probation.”

Joe Exotic Has 'Faith' That He’ll Be Released From Prison Next Year

Exotic’s hope and dream is that he can go to Mexico, work hard and raise enough money to buy his husband a “gold Trump card so we can come back to America the right way.”

Trump previously announced a Trump Gold Card, which would allow investors a path to residency and citizenship if they commit at least $5 million to projects within the United States.

In April, Exotic revealed via X that he married fellow prison inmate Jorge Flores Maldonado. When speaking with Us, Exotic said they actually got married on November 21, 2024, but didn’t release the information right away “because we didn’t want the prison to separate us.”

In May, Maldonado was released from prison and deported to Mexico.

Joe Exotic and Jorge Marquez Flores courtesy of Joe Exotic

“It was hard,” Exotic shared when recalling the final moments with his husband. “The morning of the 17th, they picked him up at 7 and I got to see him around 6:30 before he went. He went down to be released to ICE and we both cried. It was emotional.”

During his latest interview from prison, Exotic — who recently launched a TikTok shop to raise money for his appeal — said his legal team has not had any communication with the Trump administration regarding a pardon.

At the same time, Exotic claims he has “several other people” who are “working with people at the White House.”

“[They] keep telling me that my name is on the list for the next go round, but it all depends on which one’s Trump takes off the list to use,” Exotic claimed. “Why the hell am I still in prison?”

Julie and Todd Chrisley Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

When asked about Trump possibly pardoning Exotic, a White House Official previously told E! News in a statement, “We do not speculate on pardons that may or may not happen.”

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For now, Exotic finds hope in the supporters he hears from behind bars.

“I still get 30 letters a day from all over the world and I respond to every one of them,” he shared with Us. “The people around the world, seven years after my arrest, still have not forgotten me. Everyone of them sees a light at the end of this tunnel whether I see it or not. Everybody out there that sends me a letter says you’ll be out soon.”

Exotic continued, “It’s the strength of my fans and the will that I want to live what little bit of life I have left with my husband.”