Homophobic actor turns to GoFundMe to pay rent

[unicorn]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rourke#Personal_life

"Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr. (/rʊərk/ ROORK; born September 16, 1952) is an American actor and former professional boxer who has appeared primarily as a leading man in drama, action, and thriller films. In a film career spanning more than forty years, his accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA, in addition to Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide... In April 2025, Rourke entered the British version of Celebrity Big Brother to appear as a housemate on its twenty-fourth season. In his first live appearance, he was criticized for an on-air physical action towards the show's co-host AJ Odudu, grabbing her by the waist and making her 'clearly uncomfortable', with some viewers wanting him to be taken off the show. On the third episode of the series, Rourke made openly homophobic and disparaging remarks towards housemate JoJo Siwa, and was subsequently given a formal warning by the show for his conduct. On April 12, it was announced that Rourke had been removed from the house, due to "inappropriate language and instances of unacceptable behavior", this time toward housemates Ella Wise (unwanted sexual remark) and Chris Hughes (aggressive verbal confrontation)...".

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-mickey-to-prevent-eviction

[PeterRS]

Until I read the clip, I assumed the GoFundMe was a result of his being driven out of the Celebrity Big Brother House! 

Reading it, the man is clearly in the present situation as a result of walking away from his career at what has been called the height of his fame. Clearly he was earning a considerable amount of cash. Many of us change careers or jobs and we do not end up about to lose our home. How his considerable success as an actor could translate into similar success as a boxer, I toitally fail to understand - but then I abhor boxing. 

If everyone whose own choices have resulted in the possibilty of losing their homes opened a GoFundMe page, I wonder what the world is coming to. Sure, many need and deserve assistance. From what I read on that page, I do not believe Rourke does.

Mickey’s life never followed a safe or protected path. At the height of his success, he stepped away from Hollywood in search of truth and authenticity, choosing risk over comfort. Boxing—real and punishing—left lasting physical and emotional scars, and the industry that once celebrated him moved on quickly. What followed were years of struggle not defined by spectacle, but by survival: health challenges, financial strain, and the quiet toll of being left behind. Today, Mickey is facing a very real and urgent situation: the threat of eviction from his home.

[Keithambrose]

2 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Until I read the clip, I assumed the GoFundMe was a result of his being driven out of the Celebrity Big Brother House! 

Reading it, the man is clearly in the present situation as a result of walking away from his career at what has been called the height of his fame. Clearly he was earning a considerable amount of cash. Many of us change careers or jobs and we do not end up about to lose our home. How his considerable success as an actor could translate into similar success as a boxer, I toitally fail to understand - but then I abhor boxing. 

If everyone whose own choices have resulted in the possibilty of losing their homes opened a GoFundMe page, I wonder what the world is coming to. Sure, many need and deserve assistance. From what I read on that page, I do not believe Rourke does.

Mickey’s life never followed a safe or protected path. At the height of his success, he stepped away from Hollywood in search of truth and authenticity, choosing risk over comfort. Boxing—real and punishing—left lasting physical and emotional scars, and the industry that once celebrated him moved on quickly. What followed were years of struggle not defined by spectacle, but by survival: health challenges, financial strain, and the quiet toll of being left behind. Today, Mickey is facing a very real and urgent situation: the threat of eviction from his home.

I think the Gofundme ad deserves an older fashioned English response,  "pass the sick bag Alice".

[BjornAgain]

13 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

I think the Gofundme ad deserves an older fashioned English response,  "pass the sick bag Alice".

A good old Fleet Street expression from the Daily "NoWhereFast".

[Keithambrose]

7 minutes ago, BjornAgain said:

A good old Fleet Street expression from the Daily "NoWhereFast".

In the days when they were still a newspaper,  just!

[BjornAgain]

19 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

In the days when they were still a newspaper,  just!

On a similar vein, when working for The Dirty Digger (Rupert Murdoch), the chief Accountant at was then News Group Newspapers, told me of the monthly line item covering the cost for re-carpetting the News of The Screws ( News of The World) editorial floor. So he visited one Saturday evening to understand the issue. Whilst all the hacks (journalists) were smoking and eating their various take-aways at their desks, as the only canteen at the time was reserved for the actual print floor staff, should a story break, then desks were cleared by pushing the ashtrays, food wrappers / boxes, plastic cups, whiskey & beer bottles and newspapers onto the floor which was duly smashed and trodden into the carpet by all the fervent activity, leaving just the typewriter and space for a notebook.

The problem was later averted by moving to a new office with a full staff canteen, lino and carpeted (the reserve for Management) and banning food at desks.

 

[unicorn]

Yikes! As of this writing, it looks as though he's managed to pull in almost $100,000. And the majority of donations seem to be from men! It reminds me of the story of an Illinois man who left hundreds of thousands in his will to two crushes of his: Kevin Brophy and Peter Barton. I must confess that I, too, had a major crush on Peter Barton when I was a kid.

Kevin Brophy

Peter Barton

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/dead-man-leaves-estate-actors-met/story?id=18443026

"A man who died last summer willed his estate to two actors he never met, leaving them an estimated half a million dollars each.Ray Fulk was 71 when he died last July. He lived alone on a 160-acre property in Lincoln, Ill. that he inherited from his father. He had no family or children. "He was a loner, and a lot of neighbors didn't know who he was," Behle said.

What Fulk did have, though, was an admiration for actors Kevin Brophy and Peter Barton, whom he had never met. He admired them so much that he left his estate to be split between them. Donald Behle, an estate attorney, said he helped prepare Fulk's will around 1998, and never saw him again. Behle had helped with the estate of Fulk's father, who died in 1997. Why did Fulk will his estate to the two actors?

"He just said they were friends of his," Behle said, who knew they were actors but did not know Fulk had never met them. Behle is not sure why he considered them friends, but the State Journal-Register newspaper of Springfield, Ill., says he was a fan of their television shows. Barton is known for his role as Dr. Scott Grainger in the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" from 1987 to 1993. Brophy was in the 1977 show "Lucan." Fulk had a poster from the show on the wall of his house, according to the State Journal-Register. Behle is currently overseeing the sale of Fulk's property, which is appraised at $1,054,000. Behle declined to say how many bidders he has but said that a sale is "imminent." Fulk also had about $230,000 in cash and CDs...".

[unicorn]

A few years ago, at 65, he still looked hot!

[jimmie50]

28 minutes ago, unicorn said:

Yikes! As of this writing, it looks as though he's managed to pull in almost $100,000. And the majority of donations seem to be from men!

Not surprised.  Absolutely no way to prove this...but my gut reaction is most of those who donated are probably MAGA or trump supporters.  

[vinapu]

11 hours ago, jimmie50 said:

.but my gut reaction is most of those who donated are probably MAGA or trump supporters.  

+1

[Keithambrose]

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

+1

++1