People Are Warning Each Other About a Triggering Suicide Scene in Netflix's 'Tiger King'

If you don’t have personal triggers around graphic depictions of suicide or abuse and are planning to watch Netflix’s new docuseries, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” stop reading now — the following post contains spoilers.

But if you’ve lost a loved one to suicide, struggle with suicidal ideation or have attempted suicide in the past, there’s a scene we want you to be aware of in episode five, “Make America Exotic Again.”

“Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” is a seven-part documentary series that follows the true story of Joe Exotic (real name: Joseph Maldonado-Passage), a large cat breeder who ran the G.W. Zoo in Oklahoma before being arrested and convicted for the murder-for-hire plot against animal rights activist Carole Baskin.

The series has been well-received (it has a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but some folks have taken to Twitter to warn others about a triggering scene during episode five.

Episode five explores the details leading up to the suicide of one of Joe’s husbands: Travis Maldonado. Though the suicide itself is offscreen, Travis took his life in front of another zoo employee, and the documentary shows the surveillance footage of the man who witnessed it. In the footage (around the 20-minute mark), we see the zoo employee’s look of shock as he watches Travis die by suicide. There was no suicide content warning at the beginning of the episode.

Hey there! Because Tiger King on @netflix is getting really popular lately, I wanted to do a quick #SuicideWarning/#TriggerWarning on episode 5. As someone who has lost a loved one to suicide, watching that scene was extremely shocking and painful and I wish I could’ve unseen it.

— Leor Tal (@leor_tal) March 30, 2020

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a warning to anyone watching The Tiger King. One of the later episodes has footage where a suicide happens off screen. You don’t see it but it shows the witness before, during, and after the incident.

— putting the eek in cheeks ???? (@atypicalstudent) March 24, 2020

if anyone is watching Tiger King, massive trigger warning on episode 5 (minute around 15-25) for suicide

— Emily Khilfeh (@khilfish) March 27, 2020

While everyone’s raving about #TigerKing, I think it’s important to note there’s an onscreen suicide. As well as animal abuse and carcasses for feeding and whatnot. This is not really “light entertainment.” Take care of yourselves and avoid it if you need to.

— Mala Bhattacharjee (@badnecklace) March 29, 2020

If you’re someone who’s sensitive to depictions of suicide, it’s OK to skip “Tiger King.” Or, if you still want to see it, it might be helpful to watch it with someone you trust. If you’re struggling while watching, you can always text “HOME” to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.

Stay safe and take care of yourself. Your mental well-being is more important than being “in the know” about a popular show.