The Joe Exotic meme stems from the 2020 Netflix docuseries 'Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,' featuring the eccentric private zoo owner Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage. The most iconic template captures a distraught Joe after an accident at his park, uttering the line 'I am never going to financially recover from this.' This specific moment became a global sensation during the early COVID-19 lockdowns, perfectly capturing the feeling of total financial or personal catastrophe. Beyond financial ruin, the meme is frequently used to mock his obsession with Carole Baskin or to represent any chaotic situation that has completely spiraled out of control.