Ever hopeful...

Alas, after all of his campaigning from inside of prison, the star of 'Tiger King' has not received a pardon before Donald Trump left the Oval Office.

And Joe Exotic and his team were so sure that a pardon was imminent, that he had a limousine waiting outside of his Texas prison ready and waiting for him. We love a trier and all, but that was just another way to jinx yourself.

Exotic, who took over our living room screens last year in Netflix's 'Tiger King', is currently serving a 22-year sentence in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2019 he was convicted of allegedly hiring a hitman to assassinate his rival Carole Baskin. There were also a number of animal abuse charges thrown in for good measure.

Now, we're not sure if this is 100% legit, but this is the 38ft "Monster Ram Truck Limo" that was allegedly waiting in the wings outside of prison.

Unfortunately for the wishful thinker, who has pleaded with outgoing and impeached US President Trump on a number of occasions to be pardoned, he will have to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Before leaving Washington to either sunny Florida or blustery Scotland (both are rumoured to be his final destination this week), Trump issued 143 pardons to a range of accused people. Rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black, and Trump's former campaign manager Steve Bannon have all been acquitted.

Ahead of his pardoning, Joe Exotic's name has (and still is) trending on Twitter. Many followers of Exotic's plight have been tweeting their reaction to his snub.

The Biden/Harris inauguration will be taking place in Washington later today, with Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez expected to perform.