Either Hulu has seriously fumbled the punch or sports legend Mike Tyson is being paid to cause controversy in promotion of the streamer’s new series, Mike, because the block is on fire — that block being Instagram.
Ahead of its Aug. 25th premiere, Tyson went on the social media platform to make it known that he doesn’t approve of the series based on his life and times.
The scathing post reads, “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.”
Tyson also expressed his disappointment in the series created by Steven Rogers upon the announcement of Mike in 2021, calling the production a “tone-deaf cultural misappropriation” that disrespects Black creatives.
Since then, Karen Gist, showrunner of the 8-episode biopic mini series, has justified excluding Tyson from the creative process in order to provide an “unbiased story.” Tyson maintains that his story was stolen and he was not compensated, while labeling Hulu “the streaming version of the slave master.”
Mike stars former University of Texas at Austin track star Trevante Rhodes, who made a megawatt impression on Hollywood with his role in the 2016 film, Moonlight. He stars alongside actors Kerry Sims, Scott MacDonald, Harvey Keitel, and Russell Hornsby.
The production comes from 20th Television, Entertainment 360, Clubhouse Pictures, and LuckyChap Entertainment and is planned to be distributed on Disney’s streaming service, Hulu.
