Mickey Rourke catches heat on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ for homophobic comments
Onetime movie star from the '80s admits 'career in the toilet'
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Reality star JoJo Siwa is lashing out at Mickey Rourke for his “homophobic” behaviour as the two entered the Big Brother house to compete in Celebrity Big Brother UK.
In a clip posted by the show’s official X page that has been viewed over a million times, Rourke, 72, was seen getting into a back-and-forth with the Dance Moms alum.
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Mickey Rourke catches heat on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ for homophobic comments Back to video
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The Wrestler star asked Siwa, 21, if she liked boys or girls. “Me? Girls,” she replied. “My partner (Kath Ebbs) is non-binary.”
Rourke said that if he lasted on the competition “longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore.”
“I can guarantee I’ll still be gay,” the Dancing with the Stars second-place finisher shot back. “And I’ll still be in a very happy relationship.”
As he mingled with the other contestants, Rourke could be heard saying that he was “going to vote the lesbian out real quick.”
Rourke then said, “I need a f**,” and gestured at Siwa and added, “I’m not talking to you.”
According to the BBC, producers pulled Rourke into the Diary Room confessional and warned him over his comments, which they called “offensive and unacceptable.”
The Oscar nominee said that he “didn’t say it out of meanness.”
“I apologize. I don’t have dishonourable intentions — I’m just talking smack, you know. I wasn’t taking it all so serious. I didn’t mean it any bad intentions and if I did, sorry,” he said.
When Siwa told Rourke that what he said was “not an acceptable word,” he apologized, saying, “I’ve got a habit of having a short fuse. And I don’t mean nothing by it.”
Siwa‘s partner slammed Rourke as his comments went viral, calling him a “dangerous person” and a “pig.”
“A lot of people want to know my thoughts on Mickey Rourke — or however the f*** you say his last name — (and) his comments towards my partner JoJo on Big Brother and quite frankly it is beyond disgusting and it’s literally taken me many hours to even process what the f*** I just watched,” Ebbs, 27, said in an Instagram video. “Not only because that is the literal love of my life — and I want to protect her at all costs and I feel so helpless that I cannot be there to not only comfort her — but to also lose it at that f***ing weasel of a man …”
Ebbs went on to call Rourke “a f***ing loser” and hit out at the actor’s appearance, saying he looks like a “f***ing foot” and doesn’t “stand a chance with anyone anyway.”
Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause — who is married to non-binary musician G Flip — also hit out at Rourke.
“Just read an article about what he said,” she wrote in a comment on Celebrity Big Brother UK’s official Instagram page. “Just here to support Jojo and I hope he gets evicted asap.”
In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson for ITV — the network that airs the series across the pond — hinted that Rourke will be booted if he crosses the line again.
“All housemates receive respect and inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother senior team to prepare them for living in the house and to set out Big Brother’s expectation for appropriate behaviour and language. Housemates are monitored 24 hours a day and instances of inappropriate behavior are dealt with appropriately and timely,” they shared.
But Rourke’s rep, Kimberly Hines, downplayed his actions in a statement to Us Weekly saying that the actor “speaks from his heart and means well.”
“He is old school, direct and honest. I have worked closely with him for nine years and he is 100% authentically himself. There will never be another Mickey Rourke. Period,” she said.
On the show, Rourke, who was one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s, admitted he has fallen out of favour with audiences.
“I’ve made mistakes, many. I have nobody to blame for my ship sinking except myself. My career is in the toilet and I’m not getting A-list movies,” he told his fellow Big Brother competitors.
Rourke also admitted that money troubles led to him appearing on the show.
“Two years of COVID, then a seven-month actors’ strike, I had to borrow half a million dollars from the bank to get by and pay bills,” he said.
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