Tonia Haddix says she never wanted to be in the spotlight.

Little monkeys scream in the background while the exotic animal dealer tells Rolling Stone that she is frustrated with the media circus that has descended upon her life after she was the “unwilling” star of the latest HBO documentary series Chimpanzee crazy.

“I don’t want this crap, I just want to be normal,” Haddix says. When reminded that most people wouldn’t consider it normal to run a small petting zoo, bottle feed capuchin monkeys and house baby wallabies and a host of other animals, Haddix laughs. “That’s normal to me,” she says.

As Haddix tells it, she thought she was taking part in a small production promoting private ownership of exotic animals. Instead, the series focused on Haddix’s intense relationship with her movie-star pet chimp Tonka and her subsequent battle with PETA after she faked the monkey’s death.

The twist comes when Haddix discovers that the documentary film crew that has been following her for the past year – and knew that Tonka was alive and living in Haddix’s basement – ​​was not only secretly Tiger King Director Eric Goode, but his team reported her to PETA, which resulted in Tonka being taken away in 2022.

The four-part series, whose finale aired Sunday night, is set to become HBO’s most-watched documentary in years. PETA’s lawyers have also weighed in, filing a new motion asking a judge to charge Haddix with perjury and obstruction of justice, citing specific scenes in which Haddix blatantly lies to the court about Tonka. (If charged and convicted, she faces five years in prison.)

Haddix has watched the entire docuseries and says she has stayed away from social media because people have been “brutal.” (She is quick to clarify that she hasn’t been around the lip filler technician who wore a backwards baseball cap to plump up her pout.) The mother of two is not particularly pleased with how she is being portrayed and is upset that the documentary aired at all. “If they think I like it, they’re crazy,” she says. “I would like to get new legislation passed so that Eric Goode can never again destroy someone’s life without their knowledge.”

In her first interview since the finale – in which Haddix shockingly admits that she was recently attacked by a friend’s pet chimpanzee – Haddix talks about what she wished she had done differently, her regrets about crying hysterically to a judge about Tonka’s death, and presents PETA with a new challenge.

Chimpanzee crazy is expected to be HBO’s most-watched documentary in years. How has the attention and reaction been for you?
First of all, it was very overwhelming. Secondly, there are very brutal people out there. I don’t go on social media because I don’t want to see what people are saying about me.

When we spoke in 2022, you were pretty upset and stunned that Dwayne (Cunningham) – who you considered a friend – was actually working as an assistant director for Eric Goode, who you swore you wanted nothing to do with. Why did you continue filming with Eric and Dwayne when you realized they had lied to you and ratted you out to PETA?
They promised me a lot, like I could see my boy. They promised I could visit him, and they promised to pay some of my legal fees because they caused them. (But) I didn’t trust them. After I spoke to you the day the US Marshals stormed my house, I knew they were looking for a huge explosive ending to make it a Tiger King.

After they contacted me several months later and I wasn’t as angry anymore, I decided I had two choices: I had to beat them or join them. They promised me they would make it a love story or it could be trash, and I didn’t want trash. I had no choice. I wanted it to be about Tonka and how much I had given up on saving him. That’s one reason. And the other reason was that they were throwing a lot of carrots in front of me, which I was desperate for at that point.

Did they keep these promises?
Well, you didn’t see me see Tonka.

Do you think the documentary adequately represents you, your life and your experiences with Tonka and PETA??
No, not at all. I call it cheeky at best. They used footage to back up their story. They could have had me grooming all day and feeding the chimps fresh fruit and vegetables instead of the Happy Meals they bought the day before the chimps left. There could have been so much more that would have shown depth and shown what it really cost me. I’m not talking about finances. I’m talking about me giving myself up for these kids so people can see what it’s like to own these guys instead of making it so crazy.

Looking back, do you regret filming with Dwayne?
One hundred percent. They lied to me, blatantly lied. I was standing up in a hotel room and someone mentioned an “Eric.” I said, “Wait, wait, wait, you’re not talking to Eric Goode, right? We’ve discussed this and I don’t want anything to do with Eric Goode.” And they said, “No, it’s not. It’s just one of our silent investors.” That’s how naive and stupid I was. (If I had known that), I 100% guarantee the whole documentary would never have happened.

One of the most jaw-dropping scenes in the series is when you cry and tell a judge how Tonka died, and then minutes later lead the crew into your basement to celebrate the victory at the hearing with Tonka. Why the theatrics? Why did you lie like that?
That wasn’t an act. They edited the stuff together. Nobody knows what really happened. What really happened is that (former PETA lawyer) Jared Goodman verbally abused me at that hearing. They didn’t show you that. They just threw together what they wanted to make it look that way. But I can tell you right now, it didn’t happen the way they portrayed it.

But you cried in front of the judge and talked about how Tonka died, and Tonka was sitting below you.
I had already cried. Even though I knew Tonka wasn’t dead, just knowing that I might lose Tonka and that the whole thing (hearing) was based on that was enough to make me upset.

You lied to a judge and are now facing perjury charges. Do you regret the incident?
It was certainly not a proud moment. It was about feelings towards a chimpanzee. It’s not like I’m a con artist and I’m making up con stories. I loved him so much that I took a chance. I had no plan and I fell into the trap. I said a hundred times that I would like to tell Judge Perry how sorry I am because I felt terrible.

Another moment that sparked discussion on social media is your statement that Tonka is your everything, that he is more important to you than your marriage and that Tonka is more important to you than your own children. Your son agrees. How does it feel to see and hear that?
Well, it’s the truth. My children know that even though Tonka and the other chimps have become very important to me, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my children. Nothing I wouldn’t do for (my husband) Jerry. Nothing I wouldn’t do for pretty much anyone. If God put me in a position: You can get Tonka back, but you have to give up one of your children. Could I do that? I don’t think so. I hope I never have to be put in that position.

The premise of the documentary is that private ownership of chimpanzees is unethical. Once chimpanzees grow up, it is no longer safe for them to own animals – neither for the safety of the owner nor for the well-being of the chimpanzee? Do you think that is true?
No, I don’t think so. I believe that there is only a small group that is capable of raising chimpanzees well and doing so for the benefit of chimpanzees and humans.

In the finale, you make the surprising confession that you were recently attacked by a friend’s chimpanzee. You had bite marks on your legs, your arm was ripped out of its socket, your hand was injured and part of your ear was missing. You had nightmares about it. There are so many stories of chimpanzees hurting their owners or their owners’ friends. After this happened to you, why do you think people should be allowed to keep chimpanzees as pets? Why are you or Tonka an exception?
It wasn’t nearly as bad as they made it out to be. It could have been much worse. I made the wrong decision. It wasn’t the chimp’s problem, it was my problem. Would I go back in that cage? Yes, I would. Do I feel like Tonka would? No, I don’t. It’s just like pit bulls. Children are attacked by pit bulls every day, suffering terrible injuries and sometimes even death. Do we assume all pit bulls are the same?

How does it feel that (Tonka’s co-star in the film Buddy) Alan Cumming and the documentary crew were able to see Tonka at Save the Chimps and you weren’t?
Well, that pissed me off. They told me I would see it. I would never have continued filming with them. I had no reason to do so, except to save this documentary from becoming a shit show like Tiger King and that they don’t make me out to be crazier than I am. (Although) I’m not saying I’m not eccentric and I don’t have a big mouth, because I believe in what I believe in.

Are you actually prohibited from entering the Save the Chimps site?
Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve tried to contact them, but no one answers the phone or calls back. I’ve asked (former PETA lawyer) Jared Goodman four times to see him. In short, no one cares.

Would you go down this path again if you knew you could face criminal charges, that you owe PETA $240,000, and that Tonka was in a Florida animal shelter?
Yes, but I would do it very differently. I wouldn’t get involved with a film crew. They’re three-quarters of my problem. Second, I wouldn’t have lied to a federal judge. I would have just handled the whole thing better.

Do you think you will ever see Tonka again?
I hope so. But as time goes on, I no longer believe that. I challenge (PETA and Save the Chimps) that if they allowed me to visit Tonka, I would ask him to come home with me. They can bring as much media as they want; I’m sure he would jump in that cage. It took 45 minutes to get Tonka out of my house. But I guarantee it would take me five minutes to get him back in my house. I pray every night that God sees fit to allow me to broadcast my challenge nationwide and have them admit their guilt.