Mike Tyson has a long history of fighting on cable and streaming channels, but right now he’s fighting with a streaming channel. So that’s a little different.
The target of his ire is Hulu, the Disney-owned streaming service that is getting ready to premiere a show called Mike. As you might suspect, it is a biography of one Mike Tyson, where the boxing great is played by Moonlight’s Trevante Rhodes. And the real Tyson is not a fan.
Tyson posted a message on his Instagram account to his 19 million fans, warning “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.”
In a separate caption, he wrote “Hulu is the streaming version of the slave master.”
In a second post, Tyson praise UFC boss Dana White for refusing to air ads for Mike. “He turned it down because he honors friendship and treating people with dignity,” Tyson wrote.
Here is Tyson’s official synopsis:
From creator/screenwriter Steven Rogers and the team behind I, Tonya and showrunner Karin Gist, executive producer of Our Kind of People, Mike explores the dynamic and controversial story of Mike Tyson. The 8-episode limited series explores the tumultuous ups and downs of Tyson’s boxing career and personal life — from being a beloved global athlete to a pariah and back again. Focusing the lens on Mike Tyson, the series examines class in America, race in America, fame and the power of media, misogyny, the wealth divide, the promise of the American Dream and ultimately our own role in shaping Mike’s story.
Here is the trailer for the series:
These are the perils of an unauthorized bio-series. Hulu can make a show about Mike Tyson, but he is under no obligation to appreciate or support it. And he might tell his millions of fans not to watch.
Mike is scheduled to premiere on Hulu on August 25. I wouldn’t expect to see Tyson at the press junket.
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