"Tiger King" Star Saff Was Misgendered Throughout Netflix Series

One of the minor characters in Tiger King, the docu-series taking Netflix by storm, is speaking out after he was misgendered throughout the entire show.

Kelci “Saff” Saffery, one of the zookeepers who worked with Joe Exotic, Jeff Lowe, and all the others, claims that he was incorrectly identified as a woman on the show despite using male pronouns. 

Saff was a favorite on the show, viewed as one of the only people who actually cared about the animals. While Joe Exotic likely started off with a love for his tigers, he ended up getting caught up in an evil game against Carole Baskin, Jeff Lowe, and others, losing his passion over time. Saff has been championed as a hero but he still wishes the show portrayed him differently.

The producers of the show failed to address Saff’s bisexuality and they did not respect his desired pronouns of “he/him.” 

“I’ve always gone by ‘him’ since I could say that out loud. If people are asking me what I prefer, it’s very obvious what I prefer, and that’s he,” said the zookeeper in an interview with Out Magazine. “I’m not going to tell anyone what they need to or should call me. I think that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, and I’m obviously as easygoing in that department as I can get.”

Saff claims that he is not bothered by people misgendering him, but that he certainly prefers going by “Saff,” “he,” or “him.”

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