How Joe Exotic Struck A Deal With ‘Wonder Years’ Star Jason Hervey
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How Joe Exotic Struck A Deal With ‘Wonder Years’ Star Jason Hervey
How Joe Exotic Struck A Deal With ‘Wonder Years’ Star Jason Hervey To Launch A Cannabis Brand
Two weeks ago, at The Palms restaurant in Beverly Hills, Jason Hervey, who played Wayne Arnold in the beloved late-‘80s sitcom The Wonder Years, ran into his longtime friend Brad Small, an entertainment lawyer. Small, who represents actress Eva Longoria and author Nick Pileggi, mentioned that he was looking to strike a deal in the cannabis industry for his client Joseph Maldonado-Passage— better known to millions as Joe Exotic from the Netflix series Tiger King—who’s currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for a murder-for-hire plot and multiple violations of the Endangered Species Act.
“I told Brad, ‘Well, that’s funny, my friend and I are discussing the cannabis business right now,” the 49-year-old Hervey says. “The timing was good; the chemistry was even better—away we go.”
While Hervey and Small were dining on North Canon Drive, Maldonado-Passage, who was 1,420 miles away in prison in Fort Worth, Texas, might be one of the only guests of the federal government to publicly launch a marijuana company. For Joe Exotic, who used to own one of the country’s largest tiger petting zoos, the new business isn’t just another outrageous stunt. He’s a long-time supporter of cannabis. slot
“He’s a big believer in using it for medical purposes,” says Small.
In 2016, Maldonado-Passage ran unsuccessfully for president and for Oklahoma governor two years later as a libertarian who supported legalizing medical marijuana. (He passed out campaign-branded rolling papers during a convention in 2018.) In one of his Oklahoma governor campaign videos— complete with a tiger lurking in the background—he promised Oklahoma voters that he’d be on their side.
“All rights for all the people, all the time. That’s how I’m going to run this state,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat, a pot smoker or meth head. We’re going take care of each and every one of you.…Let’s fix this shit!” |
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