Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool arrives on Netflix on September 8, but Mr. T strongly disagrees with the way the documentary tells his story. In a new Guardian interview, the actor and former wrestler says the film gives too much weight to a hardman image and too little to his faith, military service and community work.
The disagreement is unusual because Mr. T is interviewed in the film and Netflix is marketing it as his origin story. His complaint is not that the documentary ignored his career. He argues that its selection and balance can leave viewers with the wrong impression of why he stepped away from acting and what he did outside entertainment.
What did Mr. T say about the Netflix documentary?
Mr. T told the Guardian, “The documentary pissed me off, because they didn’t cover a lot of stuff. … It’s garbage.” He said the film builds up his success and then undercuts him by concentrating on negative parts of the story.
His criticism is about the finished documentary’s framing, not its existence or release date. The Guardian interviewer writes that Netflix had said Mr. T liked the film and wanted to promote it, but his comments during the interview contradicted that description.
The article also records an important response gap. The Guardian asked Netflix and director Scott Weintrob about Mr. T’s objections, and both had declined to comment when the profile was updated on September 7. The documentary therefore arrives with its subject’s complaints on the record but no published answer from the company or director in that report.
What does he believe the film leaves out?
Mr. T says the documentary spends too little time on his work with homeless shelters, Make-A-Wish children, the military and his church. He gave one specific example: the filmmakers interviewed his pastor for two days, but he says the finished film uses about 30 seconds of that material.
He believes those choices make the tough persona more prominent than the service work he sees as central to his life. The Guardian profile supplies some of the context he wanted emphasized, including his early work at Los Angeles missions while filming Rocky III and his later anti-drug advocacy.
The Guardian’s interviewer notes that the documentary does include some community material. That does not resolve the dispute. Mr. T’s argument is about proportion: which events receive time, which voices shape his later career and what viewers are most likely to remember.
Why does Peter Young’s appearance matter?
A major part of Mr. T’s criticism concerns Peter Young, his former agent. According to the Guardian, Young appears in the documentary and criticizes some of Mr. T’s career choices, including the 1993 comedy Freaked. Mr. T disputes that interpretation and says the role let him work against his established type.
Mr. T also claims that he and Young had a serious earlier dispute involving contracts and that he told Weintrob he did not want Young in the documentary. Those claims come from Mr. T’s interview; the Guardian profile does not establish the details or outcome of any legal action between them.
When the Guardian sought responses, Young sent a brief message saying he forgave Mr. T. The published profile does not contain a detailed answer from Young to the contract allegation or to Mr. T’s objection about his inclusion.
When did Mr. T see the finished film?
Mr. T says he asked to see footage while the documentary was being made but did not receive it. He told the Guardian that he first saw the finished film about a month before the interview, after filming had begun around Easter 2025.
That timeline helps explain why his criticism appeared so close to the release. He was not reacting to a trailer or a third-party summary. He said he had watched the completed documentary and objected to the final editorial choices.
What does Netflix say the documentary covers?
Netflix describes Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool as the origin story of Laurence Tureaud before the gold chains, mohawk and fame from Rocky III and The A-Team. The official trailer follows his childhood in Chicago, the reason he chose the name Mr. T and the career break that turned him into an international celebrity.
Netflix classifies the film as a sports documentary within the Untold collection. The 2026 group also includes films about former college football star Vince Young and Australian Olympic breaker Rachael Gunn.
The official 1-minute-25-second trailer presents the documentary as a first-person account. It includes Mr. T discussing racism his family faced, the respect built into his name, his Rocky III breakthrough and the pressure to maintain a recognizable character without becoming a caricature.
Who made Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool?
Scott Weintrob directed the documentary. Netflix lists Weintrob, Steve Michaels, Ben Bitonti, Eden Sutley, Paul Levesque, Lee Fitting, Ben Houser, Marc Pomarico, Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens, Chapman Way and Maclain Way as executive producers.
The long producer list reflects the film’s place inside the established Untold series and its connection to Mr. T’s wrestling history. Netflix’s own synopsis remains broader, covering the route from Laurence Tureaud to one of the most recognizable entertainment figures of the 1980s.
When and where can you watch the Mr. T documentary?
Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool is dated for September 8, 2026, exclusively on Netflix. Netflix has not announced a theatrical run on the official pages checked for this article.
The Untold Mr. T movie page keeps the release information and related coverage together. Readers following the same documentary collection can also see our Untold Raygun guide or browse the Pixel Twelve Movies hub.
