There are a plethora of surprising moments in Netflix’s seminal documentary series Tiger King, but perhaps the most shocking of them all is the tragic and untimely death of Joe Exotic’s young husband Travis Maldonado. As anybody who has borne witness to a traumatic event can imagine, this must have been particularly devastating for Joe’s political campaign manager, Joshua Dial, who was present at the time of the accident. Although it's true that there are no real heroes in the bizarre and compelling story of Joe Exotic, Joshua Dial is certainly among the most sympathetic characters featured. I'm sure I am not alone when I say that I was saddened to hear during his interview with Joel McHale on Netflix’s special follow up episode that Joshua Dial has been unable to obtain counselling following the incident due to a lack of finances.

PTSD and other trauma related issues often have debilitating and long term effects on sufferers; people who, all to often, are unable to afford the treatment they need.

Given the phenomenal success of the show, with 34 million people tuning in during its first ten days, it’s fair to say that the Tiger King series was a lucrative endeavour, even by Netflix’s standards. While there are valid ethical reasons why documentary participants ought not be paid for their interviews, I believe that documentary filmmakers have an obligation and a duty of care to those who chose to share their stories, especially when the sharing of those stories may cause a recurrence or a worsening of their trauma. Making money from other people's misfortune without offering them compensation is frankly exploitative.

Since the show has now been aired in full, and honesty and impartiality are no longer negating factors, I strongly encourage Netflix and the producers of Tiger King to show that they care for the physical and mental wellbeing of their documentary participants and pay for Joshua Dial’s treatment and counselling.