Well played, Mike Tyson. Well played.
The boxing legend tweeted one of the more unusual tributes to Prince, who died Thursday at age 57, by presenting an amusing and not a little disturbing glimpse of what might have resulted if he and the “Purple Rain” musician had conceived a love child.
“#supertribute to #Prince #RIP Like the world I mourn but celebrate your spirit with your music,” Tyson wrote Thursday night.
And then it got weird.
Included with the message was an alteration of the cover of Prince’s 1979 self-titled album, with Tyson’s mug swapped in for the musician’s.
The title of the album was also altered to “Printhe,” an apparent nod to the boxer’s famous lisp.
Oh, well; at least Tyson didn’t use the “Lovesexy” album cover as the basis for his tribute.
#supertribute to #Prince #RIP Like the world I mourn but celebrate your spirit with your music pic.twitter.com/NhdPnHRwa9
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) April 22, 2016
The Carver County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Prince died at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota on Thursday. The singer had been hospitalized the week before in Illinois, after his plane made an emergency landing following a concert in Atlanta.
At the time, it was reported that the singer had been experiencing flu symptoms, which grew worse during the flight. However, TMZ later reported that the singer had been treated for a possible overdose of the painkiller Percocet.
An official cause of death has not yet been determined; an autopsy was scheduled to take place on Friday.