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Mike Tyson accuses Hulu of ‘stealing my life story’ with biopic series Mike

Boxer branded video platform ‘the streaming version of the slave master’

Isobel Lewis
Monday 08 August 2022 00:43 EDT
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Jamie Foxx discusses Mike Tyson transformation

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Mike Tyson has accused Hulu of “stealing my life story” with their forthcoming biopic series Mike.

Arriving on the streaming service later this month, Mike sees Trevante Rhodes star as the boxing champion.

The series has been made without involvement from Tyson himself, with the sports personality sharing a series of posts on Saturday (6 August) branding Hulu “the streaming version of the slave master”.

“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,” he wrote on Instagram.

“To Hulu executives I’m just a n***** they can sell on the auction block.”

On Twitter, he echoed his point, writing: “Hulu stole my story. They’re Goliath and I’m David. Heads will roll for this.”

The Independent has contacted Hulu for comment.

Tyson’s post
Tyson’s post (Mike Tyson/Instagram)

Tyson’s Instagram was flooded with messages of support.

Musician BReal commented a middle-finger emoji aimed at Hulu, while Jamie Foxx wrote: “Love u bro.”

Foxx will play Tyson in another forthcoming biopic series, this time titled Tyson.

Discussing the series at the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday (4 August), showrunner Karen Gist said that they wanted to present an “unbiased story” that allowed the audience to come to their own conclusions about Tyson.

“Challenging what people think they know about Mike and hoping that they come away from the series with something else to think about,” she said.

“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.”

Back in February 2021, Tyson first criticised Hulu’s Mike series for “stealing” his life story, calling it “tone-deaf cultural misappropriation.”

He called for fans to boycott the streamer as a sign of protest.

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