After a clip emerged of Joe Exotic complaining that he cannot say the N-word because he’s white, Tiger King director Rebecca Chaiklin has said, “Yes. Joe is a racist, I would say categorically.”

She continued: “He said things when we were filming that were very unsettling.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chaiklin explained that they kept this aspect of Exotic’s personality out of the documentary because it “didn’t have a context in the story”.

The director added that Exotic had a lot to learn: “I think most of it was ignorance and not having a lot of exposure and I think he even evolved over the course of the time that we filmed.”

Regardless of how he is portrayed in the series, co-director Eric Goode told the Los Angeles Times that the private prison owner was “thrilled” about his newfound fame.

“Joe has called me quite a few times over the last few days and weeks,” Goode said. “He is absolutely ecstatic about the series and the idea of being famous.”

Goode also revealed that they haven’t been able to contact Exotic after he was placed in coronavirus isolation in a federal penitentiary in Texas.