Missouri police arrested HBO Max’s Chimp Crazy star Tonia Haddix and her husband, Jerry Aswegan, Tuesday for contempt of court after they repeatedly ignored orders in a PETA lawsuit.
A St. Louis County judge ordered the couple’s arrest as the animal rights group sought to collect a $224,404 judgment awarded in 2023. The judge also fined the animal-related businesses owned by the couple $100 per day.
Haddix, 55, who pleaded guilty in March to perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about the death of a chimpanzee named Tonka, was set to be sentenced Wednesday, but the hearing was postponed to August 7. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge.
The self-proclaimed “Dolly Parton of Chimps” took over the Missouri Primate Foundation in 2018 after PETA sued its former owner over poor conditions. The facility once provided chimps for entertainment, but Haddix turned it into a sanctuary.
After multiple chimp escapes in 2020, Haddix’s facility reached a legal agreement with PETA, sending four of seven chimps to a Florida sanctuary. She was allowed to keep the remaining three, including movie star chimp, Tonka, if she met specific care standards. Tonka, a former Hollywood animal actor, starred in films like George of the Jungle and Buddy.
In 2021, PETA sued again over poor conditions and was granted custody of the chimps.
Haddix refused to transfer Tonka, leading PETA to file a civil contempt motion against her.
Haddix declared under penalty of perjury in August 2021 that Tonka had died in May and was cremated by her husband. She repeated the claim in December 2021 and again under oath in January 2022, stating she found Tonka dead and allowed the other chimps to say goodbye.
A judge initially denied PETA’s civil contempt motion based on Haddix’s testimony, but less than five months later, evidence revealed Tonka was still alive.
PETA launched a nationwide search with help from actor Alan Cumming, who starred alongside Tonka in Buddy, ultimately finding Tonka in June 2022 in a small basement cage at a home in Sunrise Beach, Missouri.
“When PETA and U.S. Marshals found where Haddix had hidden Tonka, he was alone, locked in a tiny cage in Haddix’s dark basement, isolated, and denied everything necessary for a healthy, happy life,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said at the time.
“U.S. Marshals and PETA freed him and now Tonka spends his days at a beautiful sanctuary roaming a three-acre island, climbing, basking in the Florida sun, and, most importantly, spending time with other chimpanzees—and Haddix must now face consequences for her selfish, cruel actions.”
The story of her fight to keep Tonka was featured in the HBO documentary that became a viral smash. The Chimp Crazy documentaries premiered on HBO Max last August, and was created by the same producers of the hit series Tiger King.
“They can throw me in jail for a year, I don’t care,” Haddix said in the trailer. “I would give anything that I had possession-wise up for that child. I would give my life for him.”
“Chimps are my whole thing. You can shape them into being you,” she added.
This April, a judge ruled to terminate Tonia Haddix’s AWA dealer license, barring her from reapplying for at least two years.
