EXCLUSIVE: After a flurry of press about Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke being evicted recently from his L.A. rental and a GoFundMe page being set up by his team to help defray an alleged $60,000 in back rent, the actor took to social media this evening and denied any part in the effort.
“Something’s come up that…I’m really frustrated, confused and I don’t understand,” the 72-year-old begins in a video posted to Instagram.
After introducing his dog, Lucky, who sits on his lap, Rourke continues, “Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me to donate money, like charity. And that’s not me, ok? If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f*cking charity. Whoever did this…I don’t know why they did it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years.”
The Wrestler actor, who’s had his share of ups and downs, admits, “It is embarrassing, but I’m sure I’ll get over it like everything else.”
He then entreats fans and supporters, “Don’t give any money. And if you gave money, get it back.”
The GoFundMe page claims, “This fundraiser is being created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent that from happening.”
Not so, according to Rourke, who says he’ll take legal action.
“I’m going to talk to my lawyer…and get to the bottom of this.”
The page’s author is Liya-Joelle Jones, who says in the post that she is the assistant to Kimberly Hines, who has been Mickey Rourke’s manager for the past nine years.
Hines tells Deadline that her team did, in fact, create the page in an act of desperation after the actor was served an eviction notice and had nowhere to go.
“We’re trying to do the best that we can,” Hines says.
Rourke’s longtime assistant is on vacation, and while his team was first trying to avoid eviction altogether, the actor suddenly needed a new place to stay, movers and a storage shed for his belongings, none of which were in the offing. Hines says she had no idea that he would take umbrage.
“My assistant started it to help Mickey as a nice gesture because he was being forced out of his home,” Hines said. “It was not done with any mal intent. The money has not gone anywhere. If Mickey decides he does not want it, the money will be returned to his fans.”
GoFundMe does offer what seems to be a fairly straightforward way to refund any money that has not been spent, as long as it has not been transferred into the recipient’s bank account.
In the video Rourke admits, “I’ve done a really terrible job in managing my career.” He calls the whole media scrum “humiliating.” He also admits to needing cash recently.
“I did borrow some money from a really great friend of mine. Eventually, I’ll say who it was. He helped me out of a jam. Covid and the writer’s strike killed my money.”
Things got worse, Rourke says, during a dispute over repairs to the rental.
“I was in a really bad situation with the place I was renting. Everything was good for 5 or 6 years and then two scumbags from New York bought the house and they wouldn’t fix anything. So I said ‘I’m not paying rent because there’s mice, there’s rats. The floor’s rotten. One bathtub, there’s no water. In two different sinks, there was no water.’”
Hines notes that there was so much mold and water damage that much of Rourke’s furniture cannot be moved out. Her staff has been in his home trying to clean and salvage what they can and get it into storage.
Hines says she and her crew have moved Rourke to a local hotel — with the management team and a very generous producer who’s worked with Rourke in the past footing the bill.
The bright side, if there is one, is that some offers have come Rourke’s way in the past few days.
“I would love nothing more than Mickey Rourke to go back to work and do what he does best,” Hines told Deadline.
Even if he is confused by the situation, the actor seems to be content with his new surroundings.
“I’m very grateful for what I have. I got a roof over my head. I’ve got food to eat,” he says.
