page_title: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 14)
section_title: Mike Tyson casting controversy
hierarchical_section_title: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 14) / Cast / Guest stars / Mike Tyson casting controversy
caption_attribution_description: sxsw 2011
context_page_description: The fourteenth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit debuted with a two-part premiere episode on September 26, 2012, at 9pm/8c - 11pm/10c on NBC, which was the show's weekly time slot.
  The fourteenth season picked up storyline-wise where the last season left off, with Captain Cragen awaking to a dead sex worker in his bed with her throat slit. The two-part season premiere was watched by 7.19 million total viewers and received generally positive reviews. The series' landmark 300th episode fell this season and aired on October 24, 2012, watched by 6.77 million total viewers. This is the first season of SVU to have any kind of crossover with now-ended Law & Order spinoff Law & Order: Criminal Intent, with Kathryn Erbe guest starring in two episodes "Acceptable Loss" and "Poisoned Motive" as her LOCI character, Alexandra Eames, and Denis O'Hare guest starring in the episode "Presumed Guilty" as his LOCI character, Father Shea.
context_section_description: On January 10, 2013, NBC announced that former boxer Mike Tyson had been cast to guest star in the episode "Monster's Legacy"(which also stars Ed Asner). Due to Mike Tyson's rape conviction in 1992, this triggered a series of protests by fans and sexual assault survivors, who felt that a TV series whose goal is partly to speak out against sex crimes should not help boost the career of a convicted rapist.
  At least three Change.org petitions were created to convince NBC to reverse the decision, the most popular one started by Marcie Kaveney. On January 19, 2013, Pauley Perrette, a star of NCIS, a fan of SVU and a rape survivor herself, stated her disapproval of the casting choice on Twitter. She included a link to Kaveney's petition which caused the number of signatures to shoot up to over 15,000. In an interview with The Wrap Kaveney revealed that "As soon as I saw it, I was just floored by the news, 'SVU' is a show I've followed for a long time... I think survivors consider this their show" and stated, "I don't know if it's for ratings or to clean up Mike Tyson's image." In response to the plot summary of "Monster's Legacy" she also opined that giving Tyson this particular sympathetic role is a form of rape apology. "It's kind of being a rape apologist, saying 'Maybe he's had this violent childhood and that's why he's become this violent person.'"
  Further criticism came from Lindy West of Jezebel who wrote on January 25, 2013 that an appearance by Mike Tyson would be hypocritical to the message of the show: "In addition to being a colossal display of poor taste, Mike Tyson playing a murderer on SVU is directly counter to the implied mission of the show. Either you're a genuine advocate for victims, or you don't give a shit. You don't get to do both." On the same day, the Joyful Heart Foundation released a statement apologizing to the viewers who feel betrayed. While the executives of the JHF reiterated that they have no say over the production of SVU episodes, they indicated that "We were not aware of this casting choice and we have formally expressed our concerns to the executives and producers at SVU." Despite being the foundation's president, the personal opinion of Mariska Hargitay, whose contract with NBC contains a publicity clause, was not mentioned.
  Warren Leight began responding to the controversy on January 12, 2013, by writing a seven-part tweet "We understand the casting of Mike Tyson seems inappropriate to some SVU fans. While in no way excusing his past actions, it's worth noting MT was convicted over twenty years ago, and served his time. In recent years he has found sobriety, and started a foundation to meet the comprehensive needs of children from broken homes. The episode itself deals with many issues, including the ongoing effects of childhood abuse, the possibility of rehabilitation, and the potential for disastrous results when individuals and/or the justice system pre-judge or fail to contextualize. Because of SVU's subject matter, all of us have a profound sense of our responsibility. Our intent, as always, is to provoke discussion and awareness. We ask you to keep an open mind. Thanks." On January 21, 2013 after receiving further complaints, he followed up with "...please know that I’ve heard you. When tweets become harassment, I will have to block. Thnx."
  Mike Tyson, who had already made his excitement known in a tweet, shared his thoughts about the role in a subsequent interview. This took place on January 29, 2013, after the petition against his casting had gained momentum. Viewing his character as a separate person and not a fictionalized version of himself, Tyson said, "I have no emotional connection to the role. As a human being I can relate to it, but it has nothing to do with me." He also mentioned being a fan of SVU, calling it "the most exciting show on TV" and saying "My wife [Lakiha Spicer, whom he wed in 2009] and I looked on this show a lot, especially when I was going through my relapse and drug periods." In response to the criticism, Tyson maintained, as he has since 1992, that he 
caption: Former boxer, Mike Tyson was arrested for rape in 1991 and was sentenced for 6 years in prison, serving only 3 years.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2011:03:13 17:45:58", "Image Artist": "Photographer: Brian Birzer", "Image Copyright": "(C) 2011 brian birzer - brianbirzer.com", "Image ExifOffset": "254", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "876", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8638", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "8/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "2000", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Unknown", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:03:13 15:53:24", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:03:13 15:53:24", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "995723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "84759/62500", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "85", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "07", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "07", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5616000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1872000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "Brian Birzer", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "320210309", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[85, 85, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF85mm f/1.2L USM"}