Mickey Rourke was issued a warning after directing a homophobic slur toward JoJo Siwa on the U.K.’s Celebrity Big Brother. Has there ever been a more cursed Mad Libs?
The exchange, which apparently happened mere hours after the contestants entered the house they’ll be sharing for the next few weeks, aired on Wednesday’s episode. In a clip circulating online, Rourke asked Siwa where he could go to smoke, and she gladly offered to show him. He then asked the 21-year-old singer, “Do you like girls or boys?” When she replied, “Girls,” Rourke said, “I know. I could tell.” Siwa replied by telling the actor that her partner, Kath Ebbs, is nonbinary. Rourke, 71, showed no indication of knowing what that meant.
Rourke then told Siwa, “If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore.” Siwa, who remained remarkably cool throughout this exchange, quickly responded, “I can guarantee I’ll still be gay and I’ll still be in a very happy relationship.” This somehow prompted Rourke to tell Siwa, “I’ll tie you up.”
A few minutes later, the episode showed Rourke talking to some other castmates and asking for clarification on how the game works. “We all vote each other out?” he asked. “I’m gonna vote the lesbian out real quick.” Siwa, who was about 15 feet away and overheard, told him he was being homophobic.
Somehow, things only got worse. Rourke yelled out, “I need a f- -,” and then pointed to Siwa and said, “Not talking to you.” Fellow CBB castmate Chris Hughes told the actor he can’t say that, but Rourke countered that he was just using British slang for a cigarette. Siwa held it together until Rourke left, at which point she told Hughes, “It’s crazy to me homophobia still exists,” and began crying.
Rourke was called into the show’s Diary Room, where contestants give confessionals and receive communication from a disembodied “Big Brother” voice, a.k.a. the producers. He was given a “formal warning” for using “unacceptable language” and told that he would be removed from the house if he exhibited “further language or behavior of this nature.” He responded, “I don’t have dishonorable intentions. I’m just talking smack, you know?”
After telling his castmates that he’d been “chewed out big-time” on his way out of the Diary Room, Rourke later apologized to Siwa (also on-camera). He told her that he has “a bad habit of having a short fuse” and that he didn’t mean anything by his comments. While it would have been understandable for Siwa to call Rourke something rude or spit in his face, she opted for the high road and accepted his apology.
This whole exchange is not only deeply upsetting but leaves us with more questions than answers. Who thought it was a good idea to let Mickey Rourke into the Celebrity Big Brother house? Does Rourke earnestly believe that he possesses the same level of looks and charm that he did in the ’80s? Is JoJo Siwa the most kindhearted celebrity we have? Hopefully, we’ll get answers soon, and hopefully, Siwa wins the whole show. Enduring this one interaction was probably harder than any other reality-TV challenge.
