Joe Exotic Quarantined In Prison Amid Coronavirus Concerns

As the coronavirus spreads across the globe, some incarcerated Americans have been diagnosed with and died from the virus. This has prompted some federal facilities to take precautionary measures against COVID-19, which has some fans wondering about the status of Joe "Exotic" Maldonado-Passage, the star of Netflix's Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. 

Joe, 57, is currently serving his 22-year sentence in a Texas prison. He was recently transferred there and quarantined, according to TMZ. Joe, who once ran for president, is serving time for an attempted murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin, another wild cats enthusiast and owner of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida.

Joe's husband since 2017, 24-year-old Dillon Passage, confirmed the isolation news during an appearance on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM show, Radio Andy. Passage, who said "I do" months after the zookeeper's fourth husband, Travis Maldonado, died, said that he usually speaks with him regularly. "We speak like three to five times every day, but since he's been moved to this new facility, they are putting him on a COVID-19 isolation because of the previous jail he was at, there were cases," he told Cohen. Passage revealed that since the move, he hasn't had communication with Joe.

Another tidbit of interest? Passage revealed whether he'll stand by Joe during the pandemic.

Dillon Passage, who currently works as a bartender, is still married to Joe Exotic and is waiting out his husband's 22-year sentence. When Andy Cohen asked during his episode of Radio Andy if Passage still loves his husband, he replied, "I do love Joe. He's been with me through my darkest times, and I'm not going to just dip out and abandon him when he needs me most."

Cohen also inquired about how Passage met the Kansas native. The 24-year-old revealed they connected in Oklahoma via the dating app, Grindr, just a few months after Joe's then-husband, Travis Maldonado, died in a horrible accident. Passage admitted that he was an addict when he met the zookeeper and that working with the animals at the zoo gave him a purpose in life. In fact, Joe's husband called his time at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park his "own, little rehab."

As for what attracted Passage to the eccentric zoo owner? Passage said they connected during a fun night of karaoke, with Joe serenading the young man with "This Old Town." The fact that they did karaoke is extra hilarious in light of Joe's falsified music career and his wacky music videos, but Passage wouldn't criticize Joe, saying of his husband, "His voice is actually pretty decent." It looks like Joe has a strong ally and partner in Passage, that's for sure.