MIKE on Hulu's lead actor Trevante Rhodes shows his respect to Mike Tyson over recent dispute - "I am a fan as well"
It is not unlike Mike Tyson to stay out of boxing headlines even after retirement. The former heavyweight champion is one of the most revered figures in boxing history and his life story is iconic in itself. Tyson himself has been very open about his ups and downs in life and how he got through it all.
That’s why it came as a shock to many that the former champion disapproved of his portrayal in the about-to-be-launched Hulu series Mike. The series features actors Trevante Rhodes who portrays Tyson in his journey over the years.
Mike Tyson came out swinging at Hulu on social media. In an August 7 Instagram post, Tyson wrote:
“Don’t let Hulu fool you. I don’t support their story about my life.”
He added that Hulu executives stole his life story and didn’t compensate him.
In another Instagram post, Mike Tyson said that the streaming platform didn’t offer him a single dollar to promote “their slave master take over story about my life.” Hulu claims that the MIKE series is an unauthorized and no-holds-barred look at the life of Mike Tyson.
Meanwhile, Trevante Rhodes, the actor who portrayed Tyson on the limited series, also addressed the legend’s discontent with the series.
“I am a fan as well. Obviously. As Champ honored the great Alexander the Great in his way, I honor him in mine w my intelligence, my heart and my time.”
The actor is best known for his part in the Academy award-winning movie, Moonlight.
The tussle between Mike Tyson and Hulu
The filming for the show around Tyson’s life began over a year ago. Rhodes underwent a serious physical overhaul to portray the heavyweight boxer, who obviously had an extremely powerful physique in his prime.
The team behind the show said that they were not able to secure the life rights to Tyson’s life because they were already taken. Tyson himself has then refuted that claim. Tyson told ET via a representative:
“My life rights option expired years ago. Hulu nor any of their supercilious team ever tried to engage in any negotiations with this Black man.”
I’m wit Mike
Fuck you hulu https://t.co/IC7ng7bMg0
The producers, however, are not legally bound to consult Tyson as they can talk about public life and public figures without doing the same. Executive producer Steven Rogers said during Thursday’s Television Critics Association summer tour panel for the upcoming show:
“For me, as a writer, as a storyteller, I don’t really like to be reliant on just one source. I really 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 beholden to just one person.”
The show is set to premiere on Hulu on August 25.