These kids dressed as Tiger King’s Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin are isolation goals
"I saw a tiger, and the tiger saw a man,"
There’s not too much happening in the world right now that offers complete escapism from everything going on with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not much that is, apart from a little old docuseries streaming on Netflix about a gay, polygymous, recording artist Tiger-keeper from Oklahoma currently doing jail-time for planning a hit on his arch nemesis, a fellow Tiger-keeper who potentially murdered her own husband and fed him to her tigers.
Nope. None of that is made up. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’ Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and an entire cast of limb/tooth deprived misfits are the 2020 icons that nobody saw coming and now we’re obsessed.
And none more so than Texan mum, Haylee Wilkerson who is helping cure her isolation boredom by dressing up her kids as the main players and the images are going viral.
Two-year-old Cooper is nailing Tiger King’s, Joe Exotic!
Joe Schreibvogel aka Joe Exotic is just about as extra as they come! No wonder people are dressing up as him.
In case you haven’t watched any of Tiger King yet, you should know that it is 100 percent NOT a show to watch with the kids. It’s a lot. It also requires so much concentration to follow the multitude of side stories, each kookier than that last, that you probably shouldn’t even watch it if you have kids around.
That being said, Joe Exotic does have some sound advice for the young of the world: “We say no to drugs, because drugs make your teeth fall out and you get really ugly and don’t have any friends.”
So, what is it exactly that inspired Haylee to get her craft on and turn her adorable kids, two-year-old Cooper and four-year-old Hayden up as Joe and Carole?
“Well, the things to do in our household are running thin, and my kids love dressing up, so why don’t try to put some positivity on a social media platform,” Haylee tells Bounty Parents.
Little Hayden makes a purrrrfect version of Carole Baskin.
While it may not have been intended to turn out this way, apparent do-gooder, Carole Baskin soon became one of the most loathed characters on Tiger King!
Turns out creating the costumes was pretty easy. Taking a marker and drawing on tattoos and Joe’s trademark oversized eyebrow ring was just the beginning.
“I found a shirt of Cooper’s and cut off the arms,” says Haylee. “Hayden has all sorts of leopard stuff so hers was pretty easy!”
And for the pièce de résistance, Haylee enlisted the help of family cat, Pauly
“He is a Maine Coon cat who doesn’t care about anything what so ever!”
Haylee not only killed time in isolation by dressing the kids up as Tiger King characters, she’s also created viral content that is spreading joy around the world!
What started a little boredom buster for Haylee, soon gained some viral attention, with the images garnering over 8k comments at the time of publishing, and more than 18k shares!
“I was bored and my kids were available for some great entertainment,” says Haylee. “I’m glad it made so many people so happy!”
WATCH: Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness trailer 2020.
