Mike Tyson’s marriage to Robin Givens has been well documented throughout his career. The Heavyweight champion and actress were an item briefly in the late ’80s. However, the marriage quickly soured amid reports or domestic issues between the pair. Tyson’s life has already been explored through several mediums, and according to recent reports, Robin has no desire to have her time with him revisited in any upcoming films.
When Robin Givens and Mike Tyson first crossed paths, she was an aspiring actress. He was already a major force in the boxing world, having already become the youngest Heavyweight champion in history following his win over Trevor Berbick in 1986. They pair dated for a year before tying the knot in September of 1988. They would divorce the following year on Valentine’s Day. Given would eventually open up about the horrors she faced within their union.
Robin has made claims of Mike Tyson being mentally ill and physically abusive towards her. She spoke with Barbara Walters in ABC’s 20/20 and revealed that the marriage was “worst than anything (she) could possibly imagine.” She claimed Mike had a volatile temper and that, towards the end, she had become terribly afraid. By the time she was able to divorce Mike, she was also granted a protective order.
Eventually, Mike would try to spin the narrative to look like Robin was only with him for money. She would sue him for $125 million and claimed that the allegations ruined work opportunities for her. Givens was eventually able to rebound and found steady work in Hollywood. Jamie Foxx has been pushing to play Mike Tyson on screen for years now. The Oscar winner was bulking up for the role and all. In 2020 it was reported that any plans to include details of Mike Tyson and Robin Givens’s relationship were halted.
Lawyers for Givens sent Mike Tyson and Jamie Foxx a cease-and-desist letter demanding that they do not include her in the film in a way that was considered “false, negative or defamatory.” Robin and her lawyers released a statement suggesting Mike Tyson moves on from discussing their marriage. While Tyson often denied Robin Givens claims, the boxer did release an autobiography back where he recalled an altercation with the actress. In the book Tyson called it, “the best punch I’ve ever thrown in my entire life.”
Tyson would go on to mock Robin and her mother in two of his one-man shows. He compared them to wild dogs, made fun of her hair, and called her a gold digger. He went on to minimize her career and claimed that any time he mentioned her, it only helped her get more exposure. A version of Mike’s life would eventually make it to the small screen via Hulu’s Mike. Even Tyson was not a fan of the miniseries claiming they stole his life and did not pay him. He called Hulu a “slave master.”
The project got to the public before his Jamie Foxx lead story did. No word on if Jamie’s project will be released.
