Axed Celebrity Big Brother star Mickey Rourke has broken his silence on claims he injured a female co-star on a movie set in 2020. The Bafta-winning star, 72, left the ITV1 show on Saturday after “further use of inappropriate language” and “instances of unacceptable behaviour”.
Rourke caused upset in the house from the start and made former Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa cry after making homophobic comments about her sexuality. While The Wrestler actor caused controversy inside the house last week, American actress Bella Thorne made allegations against Rourke, claiming that he “bruised her genitals” during the filming of their 2020 movie ‘Girl’, describing it as “one of the all time worst experiences of my life”.
The 27-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a screenshot of an article about Rourke’s homophobic comments aimed at JoJo and wrote: “This f**king dude. GROSS. I had to work with this man – in a scene where I’m on my knees with my hands zip tied around my back.”
Expressing the distress she faced, she detailed the incident: “He’s supposed to take a metal grinder to my knee cap and instead he used it on my genitals thru my jeans. 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 added more grievances in a follow-up post, saying she had “so many gross stories” about Rourke from their time on set together. She claimed that, among other things, he sped up a car engine to cover her in dirt, thinking it amusing, and noted: “Idk I guess he thought it was funny to humiliate me in front of the entire crew.”
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.”
The 2020 movie features Bella as a young woman who goes back to her hometown with the intention of killing her abusive father, only to find out he’s already been murdered. Rourke took on the role of a local sheriff in the feature, which garnered a mixed reception from film critics.
Rourke admitted over the weekend that he tried his “hardest” to leave Celebrity Big Brother. During Sunday’s episode, before his removal, he told Big Brother in the diary room that his housemates “seemed happy” that he had not left during Friday’s eviction episode.
“They seemed happy, for some reason. I did my hardest to get out of here. You know, I always went against the machine, and I don’t want to go through life, like, with a clenched fist any more,” he said. “I spent my whole life like this, and it gets hard. It wears you out.”
Sunday’s episode showed the events that led to his departure, including him using “sexual language” that made The Only Way Is Essex star Ella Rae Wise feel uncomfortable. Rourke had made a sexual innuendo after Ella told Rourke “you gotta come with me, mate”.
Later in the diary room she told Big Brother: “(It) just makes me feel on edge. I don’t like the jokes, like the sexual jokes being made towards me. I’m a young girl and I’m not a piece of meat.”
Things also became heated between Rourke and Love Island star Chris Hughes during a pirate-themed shopping task in which US singer JoJo had been given the role of captain. Rourke told Chris: “Don’t f****** eyeball me, you c***”, during the task, and drag queen Danny Beard and Siwa both tried to defuse the situation.
In the diary room Big Brother told Rourke: “Earlier today in a disagreement with Chris, your language and behaviour was threatening and aggressive. Big Brother does not tolerate threatening language or behaviour. In addition, you have used inappropriate sexual language to Ella.”
Rourke said: “Oh, I’m not aware of that but OK.” Big Brother added: “This language has caused offence to your fellow housemates and could cause offence to the viewing public. This is not the first time Big Brother has had to speak to you about your offensive and inappropriate language.”
Rourke apologised and said: “I stepped over the line. And I take responsibility for doing the wrong thing. Because I lost my temper, and I’ve been trying to work on it my whole life and I wish I would have had better self-control and I’m very sorry. I’m ashamed of myself for losing it for a few seconds there. Nobody got touched or hurt.
“Maybe some feelings got hurt or maybe others have feelings about others getting upset but, you know, I’m sorry about that.” Big Brother then said Rourke would be leaving the house and the actor said he blamed himself. “I wanted to leave yesterday actually but I wasn’t chosen,” he added.
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