Oscar-nominated actor and brooding 1980s heartthrob Mickey Rourke is speaking out after a GoFundMe campaign was launched on his behalf to help pay back rent to “stay in his home” during this “extremely stressful time.”
Rourke’s managers launched a $100,000 GoFundMe drive on Sunday to help their 73-year-old client secure funds to avoid eviction from his home due to “health challenges, financial strain, and the quiet toll of being left behind.”
That $100,000 target was reached shortly after 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
“Today, Mickey is facing a very real and urgent situation: the threat of eviction from his home,” according to the online campaign organized by Liya-Joelle Jones, who described herself as an assistant to Rourke’s manager, Kimberly Hines.
“This fundraiser is being created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent that from happening.”
In a Monday video posted on his Instagram, however, Rourke said he was “frustrated” and “confused” because he was unaware of the campaign.
“That’s not me, okay?” he continued. “I’d rather, if I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f—–g charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my a– and pull the trigger.”
“My life is very simple, I wouldn’t go to outside sources like that,” he added, later calling the campaign “embarrassing.”
In the GoFundMe campaign, Jones acknowledged the appeal could be jarring to fans who know Rourke’s long résumé, which includes “9 1/2 Weeks,” “Rumble Fish,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Iron Man 2” and “The Wrestler.”
His work on “The Wrestler” won him a BAFTA for best actor and an Oscar nomination.
“Mickey Rourke is an icon—but his trajectory, as painful as it is, is also a deeply human one,” according to Jones. “It is the story of someone who gave everything to his work, took real risks, and paid real costs. Fame does not protect against hardship, and talent does not guarantee stability.”
The GoFundMe listing didn’t explain, in detail, how Rourke fell into this economic hardship. Last year, he was kicked out of the “Celebrity Big Brother UK” house after his use of “inappropriate language and instances of unacceptable behaviour,” British broadcaster ITV said.
In his Instagram video, Rourke reflected on his career and acknowledged that he has “done a really terrible job at managing it.” He later said that the pandemic and the writers’ strike “killed my money,” and he suffered a financial setback on a rental property.
“I wasn’t very diplomatic,” Rourke said. “I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago, and I worked very hard to work through that, and I’m not that person anymore.”
Rourke urged supporters not to donate to the online campaign and said he plans to speak to his lawyer to “get to the bottom of this.” Reflecting on who started the campaign, the actor said he could only think of one person “that would do such a thing, and I hope that it’s not that person.”
“It’s humiliating,” Rourke said, later saying he would “never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. That’s not my style.”
He added that he plans to return to work.
Jones and Rourke could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday.
“What remains is a person who deserves dignity, housing, and the chance to regain his footing,” according to Jones. “The goal is simple: to give Mickey stability and peace of mind during an extremely stressful time—so he can stay in his home and have the space to get back on his feet.”
