Mike Tyson Accuses Hulu of Stealing His Life Story for Upcoming Series: ‘Streaming Version of the Slave Master’
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Mike Tyson pulled no punches in his critique of Hulu, accusing the streaming company of being a “slave master” that stole his life story for an upcoming series and treated him “like a n***** they can sell on the auction block.”
The controversy centers around the series Mike, a four-episode series starring Trevante Rhodes as the boxer. A trailer released by Hulu last month included a premiere date of Aug 25.
“Someone should get fired from Hulu,” Tyson previously criticized the Hulu series in an Aug. 6 tweet. “Producers were lying to my friends saying I supported the unauthorized series about my life.”
Someone should get fired from Hulu. Producers were lying to my friends saying I supported the unauthorized series about my life. https://t.co/KukFMNDkCb
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) August 6, 2022
The man with one of the most famous facial tattoos was more pointed in an Instagram post Sunday, posting a black-and-white text image with the caption, “Hulu is the streaming version of the slave master. They stole my story and didn’t pay me.”
The image read (all caps in original):
DON’T LET HULU FOOL YOU. I DON’T SUPPORT THEIR STORY ABOUT MY LIFE. IT’S NOT 1822. IT’S 2022. THEY STOLE MY LIFE STORY AND DIDN’T PAY ME. TO HULU EXECUTIVES I’M JUST A N****R THEY CAN SELL ON THE AUCTION BLOCK.
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Vulture’s Jennifer Zhan reported that Tyson’s vocal opposition to Hulu’s Mike “spurred major studios to express interest in working with him on an authorized adaptation of his life,” and a planned feature film that would star Jamie Foxx as Tyson is now being reworked into a television series.
Tyson’s life history contains a number of well-known scandals, as Zhan noted:
It remains to be seen how his involvement in the project will impact the way he is portrayed on screen. Tyson’s legendary boxing career has not been short of scandals in his personal life; in 1992, he was convicted in 1992 of raping an 18-year-old. His first wife, Robin Givens, also accused him of physical abuse during their relationship, which he denied.
The Mike trailer indicated Hulu will not skip over these controversies, including clips from courtroom and jail cell scenes, and displaying titles that flash on the screen reading “CHAMPION,” “VILLAIN,” “CONVICT,” “ICON,” “ADDICT,” and “WARRIOR,” ending with Rhodes’ narration asking, “Who am I?”
