Source: Roberto Cavalli/ Francis Delacroix / Roberto Cavalli
Mike Tyson is one of sports most recognizable figures.
His boxing reign in throughout the mid 80s to late 90s is the stuff of legend. It’s arguable that his life outside of boxing transcends past his career within it.
Hulu is looking to add to the lore of Mike Tyson’s life with their own miniseries detailing certain events. The streaming giant dropped the trailer for MIKE, and the man to portray the controversial figure is Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes. The limited series is created by I, Tonya screenwriter Steven Rogers.
Hulu – Mike
Showrunner Karin Gist sees the show as an opportunity to convey that “no one person is one thing.”
The show is not meant to glorify his life, we were never trying to say that Mike Tyson is a hero or Mike Tyson is a villain. Our goal was to take a very complicated and controversial figure and try to get under the hood of what he was praised and vilified for while staying true to our North Star of ‘no one person is one thing.’
The show is not supposed to be a love letter or an indictment, which is why we had to include all the good, the bad, and the complexities of both. Fortunately, as a global society, we are all talking more and more about things that were once taboo or only whispered about among friends — rape, sexual assault, consent to name a few.
Putting stories like this in the spotlight and pulling them out of the shadows is crucial to moving forward and getting the conversation to the next level. The goal was not to shy away from the scary or uncomfortable parts of the story just because they are scary and uncomfortable.
It is no secret that in 1992, Mike Tyson was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison.
He was immediately stripped of heavyweight titles. He was then released from prison after serving three years with parole. Shortly after serving time, Mike earned back both World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council heavyweight titles in 1996.
The no holds barred show was announced in February 2021 and shortly thereafter Mike Tyson released a now deleted statement refuting the show’s portrayal of him.
Hulu’s announcement to do an unauthorized mini-series of the Tyson story without compensation, although unfortunate, isn’t surprising.
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.
Hollywood needs to be more sensitive to black experiences especially after all that has transpired in 2020. The real Mike Tyson authorized story is in development and will be announced in coming days.
The “authorized” story in reference is the Jamie Foxx, Antoine Fuqua and Martin Scorsese rendition of Mike’s life. Back in 2014, Jamie Foxx announced that he will be playing the boxer in the famous Hot 97 clip detailing the intro of the movie. The Foxx assisted film still has no release date or trailer supporting its claim after eight years since its reveal.
Hot 97 – Jamie Foxx’s Mike Tyson Film
The world’s youngest heavyweight champion, at a mere 20 years old, will always have a story to be told. Whether the general public embraces Mike or not is still up for debate. A recent fight upon a Jet Blue flight tests that theory.
Hulu’s MIKE will premiere on August 25.
