There are many very funny quotes that appear in the new series Joe vs. Carole, which is currently streaming on the Peacock service.
For better and worse, Tiger King became something of a phenomenon when it was released in 2020. The antics and toxic behavior of Joe Exotic became the fodder for numerous memes and, as the recent series Joe vs. Carole demonstrates, dramatic series. However, while the new series from Peacock has elements of drama, it is also true that it is something of a black comedy.
Thus, it’s helpful to take a look at some of the funniest quotes that occur during the series, as the rivalry between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic becomes ever more heated and toxic.
Kate McKinnon has shown time and again that she is a brilliant impressionist, and she has created many great characters on Saturday Night Live. She brings all of that to bear in her interpretation of Carole Baskin, a woman who is at once very sympathetic and yet also capable of delivering withering lines like this one. What makes it especially funny is that Carole doesn't seem particularly perturbed by this revelation but, instead, immediately begins to take steps to defend herself.
Carole’s familiar greeting to her legions of internet fans became one of the most famous quotes in Tiger King, and so it was inevitable that it would appear in Joe vs. Carole. What makes it especially funny in this context, however, is that the series allows the viewer to see the many iterations that she tried before settling on this one. Given that this is McKinnon, the delivery makes it even more humorous, and it’s a testament to her considerable skill as an actress.
Say what one will about Joe Exotic, but the man knew what it took to become the sort of figure that everyone in the country could look at and, in some cases, admire. There’s much to enjoy about this quote.
Not only is it very funny, but it’s also surprisingly perceptive, showing as it does that there is more to a series like Duck Dynasty, or Tiger King, than meets the eye. Indeed, part of what makes these series so appealing is their emphasis on human drama and intrigue.
Joe Exotic is one of the most outlandish characters to have ever appeared on a documentary television series. While he can at times be ridiculous, John Cameron Mitchell allows the viewer to understand the person underneath the larger-than-life personality. This is a man who is very capable of delivering a very hilarious line like this one, which is not only hilarious but also surprisingly self-aware. Joe Exotic is a man who knows the power of his own image and does everything he can to protect it.
Part of what makes Joe vs. Carole such a fascinating series is the way that it combines drama with black comedy (in fact, it should be seen as one of the best black comedies). For example, when Carole is advised that Joe Exotic has put a hit out on her, the agents who deliver the line seem, quite bluntly, to be as confused as she is and as uncertain what to do about it. It is a bit of a ridiculous moment, and that’s what makes it so funny.
Even though Carole likes to pretend that she is morally superior to Joe Exotic, the truth is that she has some of her own issues. Most notably, she doesn’t pay most of the people that work at her own sanctuary. There is, then, a bit of a bleak humor to this quote, in which she essentially rationalizes her own exploitation of her workers.
What makes it especially funny is the fact that she is clearly so convinced of her own rightness that she frames it in terms of patriotism.
One of the best aspects of a docudrama is its ability to draw out the inner life of its characters. There’s no question that Joe Exotic is more complicated than he would appear to be based on Tiger King, and even this humorous line reveals something about himself. In this case, his funny remark that “Mr. Exotic” was his father is also a little tragic, given that the viewer sees nothing at all of this parental figure.
There are many outlandish personalities in Tiger King, and one of the most fascinating is Rick Kirkham, who takes it on himself to try to cultivate Joe’s stardom. Obviously, he seems to be quite serious about this effort, as this quote reveals. At the same time, there is also something sublimely ridiculous about it, and it shows just how swept up even supposedly sensible people were in Joe’s toxic vision of his own ego.
Among other things, Joe Exotic is something of an egomaniac, as obsessed with his own self-presentation as he is with anything else. What’s more, there’s no question that his hair–with its bright yellow color and its mullet formation–is one of his signatures. Thus, it’s not surprising that he would be overprotective of one of his major assets, and since it’s Joe Exotic, he has to talk about it in his own inimitable fashion.
Say what one will about Rick Kirkham, but the man has a way with words. When Joe accuses him of being a junkie, he comes right back with the response that he is a drunk. It’s one of the bleakly funny lines that Joe vs. Carole does so well, and it’s a reminder that there were many people who were willing and able to tell Joe the truth, even when he didn’t want to hear it.
