Tamal Kundu
Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage (née Schreibvogel) or Joe Exotic is a type of person who will stand out in any given crowd. He is smart, resourceful, infinitely charming. If the statements of several people close to him are any indications, he has a dubious sense of morality. Despite that, Joe has garnered a massive following, and one can see why. When the audience sees him on screen, they seamlessly relate to him because they think he is just an ordinary person like them. As they do this, they often purposefully overlook the darker aspects of his character, why he was incarcerated, and the other crimes he has been accused of.
Joe is unquestionably gay both in the Netflix true-crime documentary series ‘Tiger King’ and the Peacock black-comedy crime-drama series ‘Joe vs. Carole.’ However, there are rumors floating around that Joe has a son, and he supposedly appears in the first season of ‘Tiger King.’ Here is everything you need to know about it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Does Joe Exotic Have a Kid?
During a livestream Q&A session in April 2020, Rick Kirkham, Joe’s former producer, claimed that Joe had a secret wife and son. According to him, Joe was in a relationship with a woman named Kim, and they had a son together, Brandon, who, at the time of this interview, was 38 years old. Kirkman also claimed that Joe was married to a woman. However, the former ‘Inside Edition’ anchor didn’t explain whether this wife and Kim are the same person.
Earlier in April 2020, Joe’s niece Chealsi Putman said virtually the same thing while speaking to DailyMailTV. Joe was appointed the Chief of Police in the small town of Eastvale, Texas, in the early 1980s. He met Kim there. As of 2020, their son, Brandon Chappell, had three children of his own. “Joe was in and out of Brandon’s life when he was growing up, at one point just a few years ago Brandon and his then-wife, both worked at the zoo [Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park or the G.W. Zoo] with Joe,” Putman stated.
“Joe would go around telling everyone this was his son, he made no secret about it,” she added. “Brandon was even in a few scenes in the Netflix show.” According to her, the father and the son had a falling-out when Joe asked Brandon’s wife to commit financial fraud for him. Brandon and his family subsequently went back to Texas. Kirkman also mentioned that Brandon appeared in the Netflix documentary, but the producers didn’t identify him as Joe’s son.
However, Dillon Passage, Joe’s estranged husband, disputed this during an interview on Channel Q’s The Morning Bea, claiming that Brandon was actually the child of Kim and Joe’s brother. Kim is probably Kimberly Kraft, who appears in the second season of ‘Tiger King.’ Joe was engaged to her at one point, and they lived together for several years, but Joe claimed that they never once had sex. Kim had two sons at the time, and they later became quite close to Joe and his first husband, Brian Rhyne.
In April 2021, Joe took to Instagram to clarify that Brandon Chappell was not his son, adding that he is prepared to take a blood test to prove neither Brandon nor any other person is his child.
Where Is Brandon Chappell Now?
Not much is known of Brandon’s current whereabouts. Kirkham and Putman told the media that Brandon was treated poorly by Joe. According to Kirkham, Joe expected more from Brandon than the other employees and wanted him to do hard work and show leadership qualities. Putman stated that Brandon and his family eventually went back to Texas. Given that is Brandon’s last known location, he is probably still in the Lone Star State.
Read More: Who Is J.P. Wilson? Did He Coin Joe Exotic?
