John Reinke Makes a Cameo in 'Barbie and Kendra Save the Tiger King' [EXCLUSIVE]
Updated June 3 2020, 6:10 p.m. ET
If you haven’t watched the wild Netflix docuseries that is Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, then you’ve at least heard about it enough to understand that it’s a wild production in of itself. Between Joe Exotic, the actual “Tiger King,” and his wild love life; his rival Carole Baskin and the mysterious disappearance of her husband; and the rest of the quirky cast, there’s more than enough in the series to grab your attention.
And the series has only inspired its own Tiger King mania, probably the wildest of which is the Full Moon Features movie Barbie and Kendra Save the Tiger King.
John Reinke, who made an appearance in the movie, talked with Distractify about his cameo.
‘Barbie and Kendra Save the Tiger King’ was filmed entirely in quarantine.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought most film and television production to a complete standstill, postponing most of our favorite shows and movies while most of the country is under stay-at-home orders.
Cody Renee Cameron and Robin Sydney, who play Barbie and Kendra respectively, are quarantining together with some of their production team, which is how this wacky movie was able to jump on the Tiger King trend while it was still hot.
The duo are “still trapped in their quarantine Hell and this time fixating on a ludicrous reality show centered on the notorious ‘Tiger King’ himself, Joe Exotic,” the movie’s description reads. “The ditsy American beauties hatch the perfect plan to save the flamboyant - and incarcerated - madman from a fate worse than Carole Baskin and in the process face-down head-spinning jungle adventure and true-crime lunacy.”
“They did their part all through editing right there where they're at, because they're all quarantined together,” John said. “It just worked out really good how they introduced it into the movie and how they brought [my part] in, because I was concerned how they were going to do it, too. Once it was over and I saw the movie, it fit in really really good.”
John offers the girls advice through a Zoom call.
John makes an appearance as himself in the movie, calling in with the dynamic duo to offer them advice on how to save a young Joe Exotic from the wilderness.
“They wanted to save the Tiger King because they thought he got shafted,” John said. “They talk about little Joe Exotic — he's a little kid growing up… and they get to the point where they need to get more information, so they call me up [on Zoom]... and they ask a lot of questions.”
John becomes the heroines' go-to man for advice on how to save the infamous zoo owner, providing them with inside information so the girls can save him.
“It just kind of plays into the movie,” he said. “They Zoom me to find out more information on what took place. And then we have our Zoom interview.”
John says he and his new girlfriend also catch up with the director, Barbie, and Kendra in an exclusive interview at the end of the move.
“It's a really funny movie, I mean, if you watch it, you'll chuckle through it,” John said. “And right now during the COVID thing everyone needs a laugh.”
You can watch Barbie and Kendra Save the Tiger King on the Full Moon Features channel and app by subscribing for only $4.99 a month.
