Update (November 21, 2020): Less than a month after Mike Tyson invited rapper Boosie Badazz to his podcast and confronted him about his transphobia, the boxer’s nonbinary child — whom he mistakenly referred to as his daughter — has now clarified their involvement with the conversation.

In an interview with TMZ last month, the heavyweight champion said his child, Ramsey Tyson inspired him to confront Boosie, who made transphobic comments about Dwyane Wade’s transgender daughter, Zaya, as Blavity previously reported.

“[They] flew all the way from New York City to Los Angeles, California, where I'm at just to be there because [they] thought Boosie was so disrespectful [they] had to confront him," the 54-year-old boxer said.

According to Ramsey’s account, however, that’s not exactly what happened. In an interview with them, the 24-year-old said they were visiting Los Angeles with a friend in February for reasons unrelated to the podcast.

“I can't stress enough how I would never fly across the country to talk to Lil' Boosie, ever,” Ramsey told them.

Energy preservation for the win.

After stopping by the studio to see their dad and stepmom while in Los Angeles, Ramsey learned that Boosie would be the guest on Hot Boxin’ With Mike Tyson. They said they then had to educate Tyson about Boosie’s transphobic comments.

“He went into it with such little information,” Ramsey said. “I decided I wasn’t going to intervene or step on any toes unless the conversation was completely out of hand.”

After listening to their child, the family discussed whether the interview should be canceled. However, the final decision was to proceed with the intentions of it being “a good opportunity to educate someone about trans issues.”

“Part of the reason why I wanted to talk to Boosie about it is because I'm a nonbinary person who's socially transitioned amongst my friends and started a medical transition,” Ramsey said. “I felt like I couldn't not say something.”

During the discussion, the "Wipe Me Down" rapper defended his views, but admitted that he sometimes needs to “shut the f**k up.” The rapper continued to get educated after the show, with Ramsey pulling up articles and data to highlight the challenges faced by trans people.

“I ended up having to explain to him, even, that sexuality and gender are two different things, and he was blown away by that,” they said. “He and his friends were like, ‘I never heard that before.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, got it.’ He really has no idea what he was saying.”

But Ramsey said they learned that you can only do so much for some folks.

“I think he definitely got that he was out of line and shouldn't have said anything,” Ramsey said. “But I don't think his opinions changed.”

When Boosie later sat down for an interview with Complex, he admitted that he didn’t grasp the lecture.

“Basically, [they were] saying the things that [they were] passionate about, and I was saying the things that I was passionate about and [they] couldn't feel me and I guess [they were] saying I couldn't feel [them],” the musician told Complex.

Still, Ramsey said they plan to continue the effort to educate others about trans issues.

“I understand a lot of people are gonna come across this, and this might be the first time that they're hearing about [trans issues],” they said. “I think it’s much more important to listen to trans people.”

Original (November 2, 2020): Boxing icon Mike Tyson confronted rapper Boosie on his podcast show last week about the Louisiana rapper’s critical take on the LGTBQ+ community.

On the latest episode of Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson, Iron Mike spared no punches in asking why Boosie felt the need to comment on Dwyane Wade’s parenting of his 13-year-old daughter Zaya.

“How do you feel about other people’s feelings?” Tyson asked. “You know you offend a lot of people.”

Tyson's statement was in reference to Boosie's criticism of the Wade family following their February appearance on The Ellen Show where they announced Zaya coming out as transgender. Wade said he and wife Gabrielle Union are "are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community and we're proud allies as well," as Blavity previously reported.

In February, Boosie posted a video in response, condemning Wade's parenting. The rapper, who once joked about arranging for his 14-year-old son to receive oral sex from an older woman, made assumptions about Zaya's future and misgendered her multiple times during the video.

With the former world champ just feet away from his seat, the 37-year-old rapper showed some remorse for his comments for the first time since releasing the Instagram video criticizing the Wade family.

"A lot of the times I just need to shut the f**k up,” Boosie said.

Tyson quickly asked back, “why don’t you?”

The boxing great asked if Boosie attacked the gay community in an attempt to distance himself from any rumors about his own sexuality.

“If you are straight, why do you offend people?” Tyson inquired.

The "Wipe Me Down" rapper said he spoke on the matter because the subject was about a child and he felt Wade’s parenting was “going too far.”

Though Tyson didn’t agree with how the rapper went about expressing himself, both men resonated with themes of love and protecting young people.

“I love Boosie. Boosie’s beautiful as far as I’m concerned. It’s just that he gotta win the fight over those demons,” Tyson told TMZ Live. “He has to win, he can’t give into them.”

Tyson also revealed that the discussion may not have taken place if his daughter hadn’t come to him about Boosie’s behavior.

“[My child] flew all the way from New York City to Los Angeles, California, where I'm at just to be there because she thought Boosie was so disrespectful she had to confront him," he said.

Prior to the interview, Tyson said his child approached the rapper about his comments and being "disrespectful to the community.”

While he admitted to being apprehensive about their conversation, he said he wouldn’t let anyone hurt his “baby” but said it was important they understood each other better.

"[Boosie] conducted himself like a gentleman," Tyson said. "It went okay. It didn't go like I anticipated it to go. My daughter has a lot of courage and stuff.”

While he refers to his child as his daughter, Ramsey Tyson identifies as nonbinary according to them.

On November 19, the 54-year-old boxer is picking up the gloves again in an exhibition against 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr, ESPN reports.

Tyson, who hasn't entered the ring since his last loss in 2005, said he's looking forward to the opportunity to square off with Jones.

"My mindset is totally bliss. This is something I've done all my life since I was 13 years old," Tyson said. "I'm more evolved now than I've ever been. My objective is to go in there with the best intentions of my life and to disable my opponent, and that's just what it is."

The November fight kicks off Tyson’s Legends Only League, a sports platform to honor past athletic greats.

Note: this article was updated to reflect that Ramsey Tyson is nonbinary.

Ramsey-Tyson

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