Mickey Rourke is under scrutiny after comments he made toward JoJo Siwa in the “Celebrity Big Brother U.K.” house were criticized as homophobic and problematic.
On April 10, “Celebrity Big Brother U.K.” and ITV, the British network on which it airs, released a clip of the most recent episode in which the incidents occurred. In it, Rourke is heard making comments about Siwa in the backyard, including suggesting he could change the 21-year-old performer’s sexuality.
ITV did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment. A representative for Siwa did not return TODAY.com’s request for comment either, nor did Rourke’s team.
The first of the exchanges began when the 72-year-old actor asked Siwa if she was attracted to boys or girls.
“Girls. My partner is non-binary,” responded Siwa, who — according to E! News — is currently dating Kath Ebbs, an Australian influencer
Rourke then replied, “If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore.”
The former “Dance Moms” star pushed back, saying, “I can guarantee I’ll still be gay and I’ll still be in a very happy relationship.”
“I’ll tie you up,” he retorted.
Siwa responded, “I dare you to try. You’ll be the one tied up.”
The tension continued to escalate later in the episode when Siwa overheard Rourke tell fellow housemate and “Love Island UK” star Chris Hughes, “I’m going to vote the lesbian out real quick,” referring to her.
“That’s homophobic, if that was your reasoning,” Siwa said as she sat nearby.
When Rourke repeated the remark, Hughes backed her up, telling Rourke, “No, you can’t do that, Mickey.”
Siwa added, “You also can’t say that.”
Moments later, Rourke shouted, “I need a f—!” before gesturing toward Siwa and adding, “I’m not talking to you.”
Once again, Hughes stepped in, repeating, “Mickey, you can’t say that.”
After Rourke left the backyard, Siwa told Hughes, “It’s crazy to me that that still exists.” She then became visibly upset by the exchange and began to cry. Hughes comforted her. Inside, Rourke was summoned to the diary room.
There, the voice of “Big Brother” addressed Rourke’s behavior, according to ITV’s summary of the episode.
“Mickey, before you entered the Big Brother house, the rules regarding unacceptable language and behavior were explained to you,” a voice told him. His remarks were read back, and he was asked, “Do you understand how this language could be offensive to your housemates or the viewing public?”
Rourke replied, “Yes, I do. It’s some serious stuff.”
The actor was then given a formal warning. “Further language or behavior of this nature could lead to you being removed from the Big Brother house. Mickey, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Rourke responded. “I apologize. I don’t have dishonorable intentions — I’m just talking smack, you know. I wasn’t taking it all so serious. I didn’t mean any bad intentions, and if I did, sorry.”
Later, Rourke addressed the group and offered an apology directly to Siwa.
“I want to apologize. I’ve got a habit of having a short fuse, and I don’t mean nothing by it,” he said.
During a later conversation involving Rourke, Siwa and castmate Danny Beard, the winner of season four of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK,” Rourke asked whether the term “drag” was still appropriate to use.
Siwa responded saying, “Anything is OK to say in context and intention… and if you say something wrong but you didn’t know and you’re open to hearing, it’s all good.”
Despite the apology, Siwa later cited Rourke’s behavior as the reason behind her “killer nomination,” the ability given to one contestant to nominate a person to be evicted after a public vote.
“He said some pretty hurtful things,” she said. “And I think one thing you really have to do in the Big Brother house is care about others. Him saying that flat out today, honestly, made the killer nomination choice pretty easy.”
Siwa continued, “I feel like a lot of the public isn’t going to be too happy with Mickey after seeing how this day went. So I do think it’s possible that he could be evicted from the house.”
