Killer Casting: Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell in ‘Joe Exotic’

Written by | The Lens

Get ready to roar with laughter, because John Cameron Mitchell is joining Kate McKinnon in the upcoming Tiger King adaptation tentatively titled Joe Exotic.

Mitchell glam-rocked his way into pop-culture manna as Hedwig, but now he’s trading his feathered coif for a majestic mullet. In a stroke of casting genius, writer/producer Kate McKinnon will play Carole Baskin, the ultimate cat lady (and possible murder accomplice) turned Dancing with the Stars alum.

To paraphrase another SNL fave, this project has everything: gay sex, maulings, gay sex, shootings, gay sex, laughs, toothless gay sex, bestial gay sex, and more gay sex.

“It’s clear that an over-the-top character like Joe needed someone very special,” says series exec Steven O’Neill. “We are so excited to have John Cameron Mitchell, an adored icon of the LGBTQ community, take on this compelling role. His casting speaks to our ongoing vision of universal storytelling, and we can’t wait for our audiences to experience the show.”

“I’m thrilled to take on the role of this modern folk antihero,” purrs Mitchell. “Joe and I are the same age and like him, I grew up queer in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas so I feel like I know a little bit about this guy and his desperate attempt to conquer an inhospitable world.”

Just like jungle kitties devouring expired Walmart meats, we are feasting on the comedic possibilities of JCM and McKinnon in the leading roles of Joe Exotic. But our raunchy minds are reeling with the most important consideration of all: who will play the redneck crush who makes us all blush, John “Gator” Finlay?

Since amassing whirlwind popularity, Finlay fixed his signature toothless smile, thus ruining a particular oral fantasy of ours.

Well, shut my mouth!

Photo: Netflix

 

Last modified: May 2, 2021