1 day Ago By [email protected] (Niamh Kirk)
Controversial Celebrity Big Brother contestant Mickey Rourke was axed from the show last week after he issued homophobic slurs to Jojo Siwa and clashed with Chris Hughes . But it's not the first time the Hollywood actor has butted heads with fellow co-stars. Fans called for the 72-year-old to be kicked out of the house after he branded lesbian housemate Jojo a 'f*g', however, his history of homophobic slurs is rife.
Back in 2008, Mickey landed himself in hot water for calling a journalist the f-word after they asked if he was dating his The Wrestler co-star Evan Rachel Wood. Two years before, he again used the same word to a fan on a drunken night out and almost got in a fight. He defended his choice of words, saying that he has "plenty of gay friends" and they "toss the word around".
Friends defended the actors 'old school' language and say he had no intentions to cause hurt. Here we take a look at all the times Mickey has landed himself in trouble on set..
. Back in the 80's, Mickey appeared alongside fellow 80's Hollywood icon Kim Basinger for the film 9 1/2 weeks, but it's claimed he purposely taunted the actress while on set. Director Adrian Lynne said Kim also had an unkind name for Mickey, comparing him to a "human ashtray".
The director said "Kim would say that when she kissed him, it was like kissing an ashtray. And he would put on Billy Idol, 'Rebel Yell,' deafeningly loud before a scene. I think he did it to piss her off.
But when I did the test with them, I got a sense that she was excited by the movie." Adrian further detailed that the actor didn't make it easy during filming. "[Rourke] went out a lot at that stage of his life and had a hard time falling asleep.
I even put someone outside his room to try and keep him from going out all night," Culture reported. Mickey then starred in Angel Heart (1987), a dark supernatural thriller, in which he had a hypnotic duel with Robert de Niro, however director Alan Parker was another victim of Rourke’s infernal character. He told People magazine : "Working with Mickey is a nightmare.
He's very dangerous on set, because you never know what he's going to do next." After a steep decline in his Hollywood career, Mickey returned to boxing , his previous line of work before he took up acting. His boxing career is what he cites as the reason for the extreme changes to his appearance.
However he slowly made a return to acting in the 2000's. In 2020, Mickey starred alongside Bella Thorne in the thriller Girl, but Bella called filming with Mickey "one of the all time worst experiences" of her career. The US actress accused him of bruising her genitals with a metal grinder on the set of the movie.
Bella spoke out about the incident shortly after she saw Mickey's actions on Big Brother . She took to her Instagram story on Friday where she said: "This f****g dude. GROSS" and relayed the ordeal she had with him in writing over a copy of a BBC article reporting that Celebrity Big Brother’s producers had reprimanded him for aiming homophobic comments aimed at Jojo.
He said how she was in a scene with Mickey with her hands zip-tied around her back. "He’s supposed to take a metal grinder to my knee cap and instead he used it on my genitals [through] my jeans," Bella wrote. "Hitting them over and over again.
I had bruises on my pelvic bone - Working with Mickey was one of the all time worst experiences of my life working as an actress." She also shared a screenshot of a post on X in which she alleged that Rourke separately revved an engine and covered her "completely in dirt" for another scene. "I guess he thought it was funny to humiliate me in front of the entire crew," she added and also claimed Mickey "refused to speak to the director or producers" leaving her "begging" for him to show up and "complete his job".
Rourke, who left the Celebrity Big Brother house in London over the weekend, has now broken his silence on Bella's claims and "denies any intentional misconduct". "These allegations are extremely serious. Mr.
Rourke adamantly denies any intentional misconduct," a representative shared with Variety. "He was not made aware of any such concerns during filming and had no prior knowledge of Ms. Thorne's discomfort until now.
" The statement continued: "Out of respect for all parties and given the gravity of the claims, Mr. Rourke will not be making further public comment at this time. He remains willing to cooperate with any appropriate inquiry through the proper channels.
We affirm the right of every performer to feel safe and respected in their work environment.".
