Mr. T isn’t happy with Netflix over its upcoming documentary about his life.
In fact, the Rocky III and The A-Team star is calling the finished product “garbage,” accusing the filmmakers of leaving out important parts of his story while pushing what he describes as a “fake narrative” about his career.
Untold: Mr. T: I Pity the Fool is scheduled to arrive on Netflix on September 8, but Mr. T made it abundantly clear that audiences shouldn’t mistake the documentary for his version of his own life story.
Speaking with Simon Hattenstone of The Guardian ahead of the documentary’s release, Mr. T revealed just how unhappy he was after finally seeing the finished film.
Mr. T Says Netflix Documentary ‘Pissed Me Off’
Mr. T’s biggest problem with I Pity the Fool appears to be what the filmmakers chose to emphasize — and what they left out.
“The documentary pissed me off, because they didn’t cover a lot of stuff,” he told The Guardian. “When I saw it I was like: ‘What the heck?’ It’s garbage. You build me up, then you try to punk me out. I said: ‘Wow man, I’m more than that.’ Two days they interviewed my pastor, and he gets 30 seconds [on screen].”
Mr. T then accused the filmmakers of attempting to control the narrative surrounding his life.
“That’s what we call, in the Black community, a White man wanting to change the story and control the narrative,” he said. “If you don’t know me, you’re gonna think I’m some monster.”
According to The Guardian, the documentary depicts Mr. T’s fall from the height of fame as being nearly as dramatic as his rise, suggesting it was driven in part by bad decisions and behavior.
Mr. T completely rejects that interpretation.
He argues that his disappearance from the Hollywood spotlight wasn’t some dramatic fall from grace. Instead, he had accomplished what he originally set out to do.
“I don’t want to sound cocky or conceited, but if I never made another dollar, if I was never on TV again, all I ever wanted to do is done,” Mr. T explained.
And what was that goal?
“All I wanted to do was buy my mother a beautiful house and pretty dresses,” he said. “I done that in the 80s, so the game was over… I’m not chasing the dollar. I never did.”
Mr. T Says Filmmakers Ignored His Wishes
Mr. T also claims the documentary includes someone he specifically asked the filmmakers to leave out: his former agent Peter Young.
The actor said he and his manager told director Scott Weintrob that he didn’t want Young included because of a previous legal dispute between the two.
“We started filming last year at Easter. I didn’t see the finished product until a month ago,” Mr. T said. “We told them ‘Don’t put Peter in my doc’, but he did.”
Mr. T in his Netflix documentary – Netflix
Mr. T also took issue with how much attention the documentary gives a violent incident from his teenage years involving men who robbed his mother, arguing that the movie puts “too much emphasis on that scene.”
His frustration ultimately comes back to the same complaint: there were other parts of his life that he believes deserved considerably more attention.
That includes his military service, Christian faith, charity work, visits with Make-A-Wish children, and efforts to help his community.
Instead, Mr. T believes the documentary spends valuable time attempting to pick apart his career choices.
Mr. T Defends One of His Strangest Movie Roles
One example involves Young criticizing Mr. T’s decision to play the Bearded Lady in the bizarre 1993 comedy Freaked.
For Mr. T, however, taking such an unexpected role was the entire point.
He described it as an opportunity to go “against the typecast” and noted that the movie also featured performers including Brooke Shields, Keanu Reeves, and Randy Quaid.
Mr. T at WrestleMania – WWE
Rather than spending time criticizing a quirky acting choice, Mr. T believes the filmmakers could have given more attention to Reverend Henry Hardy, his longtime pastor, and the other aspects of his life that do not fit the familiar image of the gold-chain-wearing tough guy.
That frustration apparently boiled over when Mr. T finally saw the documentary.
“I said: ‘Lord, don’t let me go off. Don’t let me go off.’ ‘Cos I wanted to go off on Netflix,” he recalled.
Instead, Mr. T said he decided to “take the high road.”
Netflix Apparently Thought Mr. T Loved the Documentary
That makes the timing of The Guardian interview particularly awkward for Netflix.
Hattenstone revealed that before interviewing Mr. T, Netflix had apparently indicated that the actor loved the documentary and was eager to promote it.
That was clearly not the reaction Hattenstone received when he actually sat down with the man himself.
The Guardian contacted Netflix, Weintrob, and Young regarding Mr. T’s criticism.
Mr. T in Rocky 3 – MGM
Netflix and Weintrob declined to comment.
Young offered a brief response to his former client.
“Please give Mr. T my best, and let him know I forgive him,” he said.
Mr. T also pushed back against seemingly minor details scrutinized in the documentary, including his preference for white limousines and certain hotel accommodations during the height of his fame.
Mr. T in The A Team – Universal
“What’s wrong with white limousines? Shouldn’t I have a choice of color?” he asked.
For Mr. T, the focus on such things seems to miss the larger story of what he did with his celebrity once he had it.
Mr. T Says There Is More to His Story
Mr. T became one of the most recognizable personalities of the 1980s after exploding onto the screen as Clubber Lang opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III.
That performance helped propel him into the role that would define his career, B.A. Baracus on The A-Team. He subsequently became a pop-culture phenomenon, appeared at the inaugural WrestleMania, starred in movies and television shows, and turned his larger-than-life personality into an instantly recognizable brand.
But that public persona is only part of the story Mr. T apparently wanted Netflix to tell.
Mr. T in his Netflix documentary – Netflix
His life also includes growing up on Chicago’s South Side, serving in the U.S. Army, legally changing his name to Mr. T, his Christian faith, and decades of charitable work.
Those are the elements Mr. T believes were shortchanged in favor of a more dramatic Hollywood rise-and-fall narrative.
Whether viewers agree with his assessment will become clearer soon.
Untold: Mr. T: I Pity the Fool arrives on Netflix on September 8.
But before Netflix has even released its documentary telling the story of Mr. T, the man himself has already made one thing very clear: he does not believe it tells the whole story.
How do you feel about this dispute between Netflix and Mr. T? Sound off and let us know!
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