Meghan McCain Says She 'Considered' Signing Petition to Have Tiger King 's Joe Exotic Pardoned
Meghan McCain can’t help but be enamored with the Tiger King himself.
On Thursday’s episode of The View, the cohost, 35, discussed her love for the hit Netflix docuseries Tiger King, which covers the outlandish story of Joseph Maldonado-Passage (aka Joe Exotic, aka the Tiger King) and other eccentric figures in the exotic animal–keeping world.
“I can’t stop watching this,” McCain said of the seven-episode show. “I actually watched it entirely, and now I’m watching it all over again.”
McCain said even though Maldonado-Passage, 57, is a convicted criminal — he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for concocting a murder-for-hire plot against a rival animal rights activist, among other crimes — she found herself consumed by his charisma, as depicted in the show.
“I will say that it’s interesting, because he has committed a lot of crimes and he’s definitely ethically nebulous, but he’s sort of this, like, folk hero to a lot of people, and I’m one of the people who has fallen in love with him,” she said.
The journalist said she almost supported a petition to have Maldonado-Passage pardoned.
“I actually considered signing the petition to have President Trump pardon him, but that just must be out of how obscenely bored I am in my house right now,” she said. “I didn’t do it.”
RELATED: Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg Recreate Joe Exotic Music Video: ‘Quarantine Craziness!’
Greg Endries/Bravo; AP/Shutterstock Meghan McCain and Joseph Maldonado-Passage
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories
On Saturday, McCain jokingly tweeted that Maldonado-Passage deserved a full pardon — for successfully entertaining her while stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
“‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic deserves a presidential pardon for being the only thing to distract me from the #coronapocolypse since the outbreak….,” she wrote.
RELATED VIDEO: Celebrities with Connections to Netflix’s Hit Docuseries Tiger King
Celebrities with Connections to Netflix's 'Tiger King'
Here are the celebrities with connections to 'Tiger King.'
RELATED: Donald Trump Jr. Bizarrely Shares Meme of His Father as Tiger King‘s Criminal Star Joe Exotic
Since its debut, Tiger King has gained a number of famous fans, including Jared Leto, Sylvester Stallone and Kim Kardashian West, who called the show “crazy.”
Rapper Cardi B sided with Maldonado-Passage on Twitter, writing that she intends to liberate him sooner or later. “Bout to start a gofundme account for Joe. He shall be free,” she tweeted on Saturday, saying “They did Joe so dirty over and over again” in another post.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness is now available to stream on Netflix.
