"I'll never forget" - When Mike Tyson honored Dana White’s loyalty for rejecting high-stakes deal worth "millions" for their friendship
Boxing legend Mike Tyson has led a tumultuous life with several ups and downs. UFC CEO Dana White is one of the close friends that he has made along the way. Starting in early 2021, Tyson was embroiled in a feud with streaming platform Hulu over a documentary series based on his life. The boxing legend heavily criticized Hulu on social media and urged fans to ban the platform for "stealing his story."
In a social media post in August 2022, the 58-year-old revealed that Dana White refused a multi-million dollar offer from Hulu to promote the documentary. Overwhelmed by White's gesture, Tyson praised him for "honoring their friendship".
“Hulu tried to desperately pay my brother @danawhite millions without offering me a dollar to promote their slave master take over story about my life. He turned it down because he honors friendship and treating people with dignity. I'll never forget what he did for me just like I'll never forget what Hulu stole from me.”
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Why was Mike Tyson irked with Hulu?
In February 2021, video streaming service Hulu announced an eight-part documentary series based on Mike Tyson's boxing career. Tyson claimed that he was not consulted or involved in the production of the series while alleging that he did not receive financial compensation from the streaming service.
At the time, the United States had witnessed widespread protests after African-American George Floyd died at the hands of police in 2020. In light of this, Tyson felt Hulu was trying to benefit from announcing the documentary during Black History Month.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Tyson shared his side of the story, writing:
"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. To make this announcement during Black History Month only confirms Hulu's concern for dollars over respect for black story rights."
He added:
"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. Hulu to announce stealing a black athlete's story during Black History Month couldn't be more inappropriate or tone deaf."
Dana White has spoken respectfully about Mike Tyson many times on public platforms. He was also one of the people who showed concern for the boxing legend after he accepted to fight a much younger Jake Paul in a professional boxing match.