It’s not often that a legendary athlete like Mike Tyson takes on a major streaming service like Hulu, but that’s exactly what happened last year in August 2022. Tyson, the former heavyweight champion, accused Hulu of stealing his life story for a miniseries which was released on the platform. The accusations sparked a heated debate, with Tyson taking a strong stance against what he calls exploitation by Hulu.
The contentious boxing champion repeated his denial of involvement in making Mike. The eight-part documentary chronicled the highs and lows of his illustrious professional career and tumultuous personal life. “Don’t let Hulu fool you,” Tyson wrote in a statement on Instagram. “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.”
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Mike stated, “To Hulu executives, I’m just a n****r they can sell on the auction block,” he continued, captioning the post, “Hulu is the streaming version of the slave master. They stole my story and didn’t pay me.” Tyson also said that Hulu “desperately paid” the Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White. He said, “millions without offering me a dollar to promote their slave master take over a story about my life.”
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Tyson’s life story is well-known to many, from his rise to fame as a boxing prodigy to his addiction and legal troubles. The miniseries promised to delve into these events and more, showcasing Tyson’s life both in and out of the ring, but they failed in it as Mike opposed it. When the adaptation was first revealed earlier this year, Tyson strongly objected, calling it a “tone-deaf cultural theft” of his life. Rogers responded to the criticism at the show’s virtual Television Critics Association discussion.
Rogers addressed the criticism, “We actually couldn’t talk to him because his life rights were already taken, so that was never on the table,” Rogers said, per TheWrap. “I would hope that if he watches it, he will change his opinion.” He added, “For me, as a writer, as a storyteller, I don’t like to be reliant on just one source,”
He also said, “I like to do the research and get all these different opinions and then put a story around all of that. I don’t like to be accountable to just one person.” Tyson further criticized the streamer and termed Rogers’ statements a “flat-out lie” The situation also raised some important questions about the rights of celebrities and their life stories, particularly regarding streaming services and other media outlets.
“My life rights option expired years ago,” Tyson said via his rep. “Hulu and neither their supercilious team ever tried to engage in negotiations with this Black man.” He added, “They say this story is an exploration of a Black man. It’s more like an exploitation of a Black man. Hulu thinks their tracks are covered by hiring Black sacrificial lambs to play the part of frontmen for their backdoor robbery. I will always remember this blatant disregard of my dignity.”
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Studios often create movies about real individuals without their consent. The first episode of Mike, an eight-part series, was released on Hulu on August 25. It is supposed to examine Tyson’s successes and failings, from his troubled personal life to his career in the ring and beyond. One of the many issues surrounding Tyson is his notorious 1997 biting on Evander Holyfield’s right ear. The action resulted in Tyson’s suspension from competition.
Tyson spent three years in prison for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington in 1992. He insisted that his interaction with Washington had been entirely voluntary. In 1999, the ex-heavyweight champion received an additional nine months in jail for attacking two motorists after a car accident. After getting into an argument with a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport in 2009, police detained him again; this time, however, no charges were brought against him.
