Mike Tyson wants to leave the past behind him.
The heavyweight champion is not thrilled that his life is being chronicled in the upcoming Hulu series Mike, starring Trevante Rhodes in the titular role. "Don't let Hulu fool you," Tyson wrote on Instagram Aug. 6. "I don't support their story about my life. It's not 1822. It's 2022."
The boxer likened the streaming platform to a "slave master," writing, "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."
Additionally, Tyson said Hulu offered UFC president Dana White millions to promote the Hulu series, an offer that White ultimately refused. "He turned it down because he honors friendship and treating people with dignity," Tyson said. "I'll never forget what he did for me just like I'll never forget what Hulu stole from me."
While Tyson previously confirmed his involvement in a biopic, that project is still ongoing, with Jamie Foxx set to play the boxer.
In comparison, Tyson had no involvement with Hulu's Mike, with showrunner Karen Gist telling the TV Critics' Association that she and the other writers wanted to "tell an unbiased story and have the audience decide what they think or feel."
She noted that the goal was to challenge people's perceptions of the figure. "Whether you like him or hate him, does the story make you question how complicit society has been?" she said. "That was the intention, that was the North Star for the writers' room as we were crafting stories."
Additionally, screenwriter Steve Rogers said they couldn't speak to Tyson because the rights to his story had already been bought. However, Tyson's rep insists this is a "flat-out lie," saying, "Hulu nor any of their supercilious team ever tried to engage in any negotiations with this Black man."
The first two episodes of Mike premiere Aug. 25 on Hulu.