‘Tiger King’ Director Back With ‘Dolly Parton Of Chimps’ On Max

Tonia Haddix from Chimp Crazy | YouTube

There is a new documentary coming from the director of Tiger King. As with the earlier Netflix movie, Chimp Crazy sees filmmaker Eric Goode once again reportedly lie and deceive people to get a shocking documentary feature out of it. This time, it is about a woman named Tonia Haddix, who owned a chimp named Tonka.

Here is what you need to know about the woman nicknamed the “Dolly Parton of chimps.”

Tiger King Director Brings Max Chimp Crazy

Eric Goode was one of the Tiger King directors and the person that Carole Baskin accused of deceiving her for the purpose of that documentary. While Goode said she knew it was more than just a documentary about Tiger King, she claims he made her think that was all it was about.

Chimp Crazy trailer | YouTube
Chimp Crazy trailer | YouTube

Now, Goode is back with another documentary about someone else keeping an exotic animal as a pet. Once again, he has been accused of lying about his participation, and his lies were discovered this time. Goode’s production company sent in a documentary crew to pretend to want to interview Tonia Haddix, a woman keeping a chimp as a pet and lying to courts that the chimp was dead to keep it a secret.

Missouri has lax laws on owning exotic animals, but she broke federal laws when she crossed state lines with it. When PETA fought to send investigators after her, she lied under oath that she euthanized the chimp, named Tonka, because he had grown sick.

In reality, she kept it in a cage, treating it like her own child. This all ended when the documentary film crew convinced her they wanted to make a film about how the chimp was in a better place, and PETA didn’t have its best interests at heart. However, one of the filmmakers reported it to authorities, who came and raided her home, taking the chimp to a sanctuary.

How To Watch Chimp Crazy

Thanks to her big hair and flamboyant personality, people have nicknamed Tonia Haddix the “Dolly Parton of Chimps.” She also claims she had Tonka’s best interests at heart. The chimp appeared in movies before she bought him.

“Tonka and I just found each other. And Tonka loved me as much as I loved Tonka,” Tonia said in the trailer. Tonia, at one time, owned seven chimpanzees bred for talent that she used to house and look after. She said in the trailer that she considers Tonka to be her “child.” She went on to say, “I would give my life for him, and that’s exactly what I did, to be honest.”

Chimp Crazy is a Max documentary featuring footage from the crew that Goode sent in to trick her and conduct interviews after the fact. Chimp Crazy premieres on Max on August 18.

Are you interested in seeing Chimp Crazy on Max? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
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