"Streaming Version Of The Slave Master": Mike Tyson Furious Over Unauthorized Hulu Biopic ‘Mike’

[Ubiquitous]

Boxing legend Mike Tyson is lashing out against the Hulu biopic "Mike" once
again, saying the streaming giant stole the story of his life without
permission.

"Don't let Hulu fool you. I don't support their story about my life," the 56
-year-old former world heavyweight champion posted to his Instagram account.
"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."

In the caption, Tyson wrote, "Hulu is the streaming version of the slave
master. They stole my story and didn't pay me."

The day before, Tyson praised UFC president Dana White for refusing to
promote the documentary.

"Hulu tried to desperately pay my brother @danawhite millions without
offering me a dollar to promote their slave master take over story about my
life," Tyson said. "He turned it down because he honors friendship and
treating people with dignity. I'll never forget what he did for me just like
I'll never forget what Hulu stole from me."

"Mike" stars Trevante Rhodes as Tyson and promises to "explore the wild,
tragic and controversial life and career of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson -
one of the most polarizing figures in sports culture," per the IMDb
description. The miniseries is scheduled to debut on August 25.

Tyson has been railing against "Mike" for months. In a now-deleted Instagram
post from February, he wrote, "Hulu's announcement to do an unauthorized
mini-series of the Tyson story without compensation, although unfortunate,
isn't surprising," the celeb wrote at the time, per Deadline.

"This announcement on the heels of social disparities in our country is a
prime example of how Hulu's corporate greed led to this tone-deaf cultural
misappropriation of the Tyson life story. To make this announcement during
Black History Month only confirms Hulu's concern for dollars over respect for
black story rights. Hollywood needs to be more sensitive to black experiences
especially after all that has transpired in 2020."

Showrunner Karen Gist defended the existence of "Mike."

"We just wanted to tell an unbiased story and have the audience decide what
they think or feel," Gist said at Hulu's Television Critics Tour panel last
week.

"Challenging what people think they know about Mike and hoping that they come
away from the series with something else to think about. Whether you like him
or hate him, does the story make you question how complicit society has been?
That was the intention, that was the North Star for the writers' room as we
were crafting stories."

--
Let's go Brandon!