Mike Tyson Says Racism Played Role In His 1992 Rape Conviction
In February 1992, an Indianapolis jury found Mike Tyson guilty of raping beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington, paving the way for the "Baddest Man on the Planet" to be sentenced to six years in prison. (Although he was released on parole after serving just under three years.)
For many years that followed, the boxing legend maintained his absolute innocence of that alleged crime and a preview clip of an all-new episode of OBJECTified this Sunday night (8 p.m. ET on Fox News) has "Iron Mike" re-asserting much of the same.
In the footage below, Tyson tells the show's host and TMZ founder, Harvey Levin, that racism definitely played a role in his rape conviction more than 25 years ago.
After calling Washington "a really disturbed person" who was looking for revenge after he kicked her out of a hotel room, Tyson reasoned that he was unconvincing to the jury "because look at it ... I’m Black, I’m big, I’m strong. It’s all stereotype.”
When asked if he passes his then-plight off as racism, Tyson said, "exactly."
Watch the clip below.
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