Photographer Lori Grinker alleges a young Mike Tyson “once tried to grab my breast,” making the claim in her new tome chronicling parts of the legendary boxer’s life.
Grinker, who is behind obtained by the Daily Mail, “Mike could be very sweet and gentle when he was feeling it, and not very sweet or gentle when he wasn’t.”
The preface continued, “He once tried to grab my breast, and when I pushed him away, he got angry and threw my light meter in the snow. He had a somewhat spoiled side and, being the champ, grew accustomed to getting his way.”
Grinker, 65, told the publication she and Tyson retained a professional rapport following the alleged incident. The two worked together in the 1980s.
Tyson’s camp hit back at Grinker’s claims in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“In this day and age it’s unfortunate that Ms. Grinker was not more careful with her words omitting the fact that she was in a sexual relationship with Mike Tyson when he was a minor with almost a decade age difference,” representatives for the 56-year-old fighter said.
A spokesperson for Tyson alleged “he was around 17 and had sexual relationship (sic) with her on & off until about 21.”
Grinker went on to call Tyson’s allegation “inaccurate.”
Grinker, an award-winning documentary photographer and author, presents a unique look at Tyson in her new book, which features never-before-seen photographs of the fighter “at his prime and peaking the 1980s and 1990s, in and out of the ring, sometimes with epic legends,” according to the title’s description with Simon and Schuster.
“Mike Tyson” was released in early September.