Miranda Lambert Explains This Tiger King Photo After Getting Backlash from Fans

Miranda Lambert revealed her personal connection to "Tiger King" Joe Exotic on Monday, but not all her fans were thrilled to see the country star pictured alongside the docuseries subject.

"Here's a little Monday memory for y'all," Lambert shared, along with a photo of her with Joe Maldonado-Passage, husband John Finlay and staffer Kelci "Saff" Saffery. Additional pictures showed her next to Joe, some cages and a mobile facility for the Humane Society of Tulsa.

While many of her followers liked the photos and reacted with surprise in her comments, others found it troubling to see her next to a man who is now behind bars for animal abuse and his apparent involvement in a murder for hire plot against Carole Baskin.

"Surprised that you would post this considering you love of animals???? Odd!" exclaimed one follower. "I wouldn't be bragging about Tiger King. Have you seen hidden videos of him punching tigers in the face?" asked another, "Shame on anyone who is in his corner."

"Did you know how badly those animals were being treated?" another follower wrote. "I've been a fan of yours for 10+ years, but he killed innocent and healthy tigers."

Some time after her initial post, Lambert followed up with some "backstory" for the image.

"During Hurricane Harvey, the MuttNation team went to Houston to help relocate existing shelter dogs to free up shelter space for animals separated from their owners," she explained.

"MuttNation asked for volunteers who could transport some dogs from Houston to shelters in Oklahoma, where there was more room and they could be treated and adopted," she wrote. "Some guy named Joe volunteered his trailer and staff. Now I know it's 'Joe Exotic.'"

She made sure to let everyone know she had not been to his zoo, had no idea he owned tigers and, "OBVIOUSLY," would never "condone animals being treated badly."