Celebrity Big Brother has been slapped with a generous number of Ofcom complaints in its very first week. The 2025 series only kicked off on April 7, and the first episode of the ITV show fuelled viewers into taking action.
Even before all the celebs entered the house, viewers were incensed by the actions of Mickey Rourke, leading to countless calls for his axing from the reality TV show. The fury was caused by his ‘inappropriate behaviour’ towards host AJ Odudu right as the show kicked off, with many fans taking to Instagram to ask if she was okay.
AJ later addressed Mickey’s actions on the spin-off Late & Live. Now, Ofcom’s weekly complaints report reveals that Celebrity Big Brother received 89 complaints for its debut episode, sparked by Mickey’s actions. Speaking to the Mirror, a representative of Ofcom confirmed: “The majority of complaints related to Mickey Rourke’s behaviour towards AJ Odudu.”
In the troubling moment on night one, AJ, 37, looked gorgeous in a form fitting outfit decorated with sparkling gems and feathers, and Mickey, 72, made it very clear that he was taken by the star.
As she and her co-host Will Best tried to encourage the actor to enter the house, he continued to gaze at AJ, looking her up and pouting down before grabbing onto her and saying: “I’m gonna stay with you.”
“Stop looking at me,” AJ said jokingly, before things took a twist as Mickey tried to grab her to go with him, seemingly intent on making sure she stayed by his side throughout the show. Will got between the two by gripping AJ’s hand and putting his arm around her, with fans praising his actions online.
Even before the episode finished, fans predicted what the Ofcom report would say and vowed they’d make complaints – calling on both the watchdog and ITV to take action.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan guessed: “Well… Mickey’s just landed himself some Ofcom complaints.” A second raged: “@Ofcom @bbuk Mickey Rourke should be removed. Disgusting pervert.”
Another person added: “@Ofcom you need to investigate This kind of Behaviour from Any Celebrity Get Michael Rourke Removed from the CBB House for Inappropriately Touchy Behaviour Towards AJ Odudu.”
Despite shocking viewers with his behaviour towards AJ, Mickey swears he’s a changed man after his partying and womanising past.
Speaking to The Sun before starting the show, Mickey admitted that being live on screen would be a “challenge,” but he wanted to show that he was no longer “the guy that went out eight nights a week picking up supermodels.”
He backed up his claims during a candid chat with fellow housemate Trisha Goddard, 67, during which he said: “I decided to isolate and live alone and not have any relationships about six years ago. So, a lot of good stuff is coming to me from just being alone.” However, fans think his actions towards AJ might suggest differently.
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