The convicted star of the hit docuseries Tiger King has thrown his support behind .
Joe Exotic's endorsement on Wednesday comes in the final days of the federal election campaign and was made in the hope Albanese would call and urge his release from prison.
"I made a public offer to work for their zoo for free for six months or any other wildlife conservation if he (Albanese) would call President Trump and ask for me to be released based on the American governments witnesses have admitted to perjury," Exotic wrote on social media.
"Will make the same offer to President Trump or the President of Mexico."
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, said Albanese had not paid him for his endorsement. He also did not say which zoo or wildlife conservation group he had offered to work for.
Albanese appeared amused over the endorsement when asked about it after speaking at the National Press Club on Wednesday, saying he was unaware of it before being questioned and describing it as '"some levity" in the campaign.
He gave no indication he intended to contact Trump about the matter, saying he hoped it was a question asked for the sake of asking.
chronicled the life of Exotic — a zookeeper and big cat dealer from the US state of Oklahoma — and his long-running feud with Florida sanctuary owner and animal rights activist .
It also covered the events leading up to his 2019 conviction on federal charges of, among other things, an attempted murder-for-hire plot against Baskin.
Perjury has not been proven. Exotic's lawyer Levi McCathern claimed in January that key witnesses had admitted to perjury in Exotic's case and that there were "inconsistencies" in the case against his client, according to local news station Fox 4 KDFW, as he called for Exotic's convictions to be overturned.
Days after Trump's January inauguration and l, Exotic renewed his calls for the Republican president to free him.
He described himself as a "political prisoner in America" and asked Trump to "put an end to this and let me go home" in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Exotic, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020. But in 2022, he was re-sentenced to 21 years after a US appeals court ruled his original sentence was too long.
Asked what he thought about the endorsement and whether anyone from Labor had paid for it, an amused Albanese told a laughing press club audience: "Good to see some levity.
"I have very passionate support for one particular animal — Toto [Albanese's dog] — and I'm looking forward to voting with her on Saturday."
He added: "I think the point of that question was to ask the question rather to get a serious answer, I hope."
Visit the to access articles, podcasts and videos from SBS News, NITV and our teams covering more than 60 languages.
