Mickey Rourke has slammed a $US100,000 ($A150,000) GoFundMe set up in his name in an attempt to prevent his eviction from his Los Angeles home.
The Hollywood heavyweight blasting the online fundraiser as “humiliating” and “embarrassing”
Rourke, 73, was threatened with eviction in December after allegedly falling behind on nearly $60,000 in rent payments on his leased property, Realtor reports.
The home in question, which Rourke signed a lease for in March, the Los Angeles Times reports, is a three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom Spanish-style bungalow that was originally built in 1926 and has since undergone some major renovations.
Rourke has shared several images of himself posing with his beloved pet dogs outside of the property, revealing that he set up a DIY gym on the back porch where he was able to keep up with his training regimen.
In response to Rourke’s financial woes, a GoFundMe was set up in his name by a woman named Liya-Joelle Jones, who is understood to have been a friend of the actor, as well as a member of his management team.
She claimed in the description of the online fundraiser that it had been “created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent [his eviction] from happening.”
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Rourke was served with a three-day notice on December informing him that he needed to either pay the $US59,100 he owed in rent or vacate the Beverly Grove property. Picture: Google Maps
However, Rourke has now shut down any suggestion that he was involved in the creation of the fundraiser, stating in a video shared to his Instagram that he would never dream of asking the public for their “charity.”
“Something’s come up that … I’m really frustrated, confused and I don’t understand … Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me, to donate money, like charity. And that’s not me, OK?” he says in the clip.
“If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f***ing charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my a** and pull the trigger.”
Rourke went on to urge fans not to donate to the fundraiser, which has already surpassed its $US100,000 ($A150,000) goal by more than $US2,000 ($A2,900).
“This thing is very embarrassing … Don’t give any money, and if you gave money, get it back. It’s really humiliating. They say it’s up to $100,000,” he said.
“I wouldn’t take a f***ing nickel of charity from anybody.
“Whoever did this … I don’t know why they did it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years.”
Speaking to Deadline, Rourke’s manager, Kimberly Hines, revealed that Jones — her assistant — had set up the fundraiser as a “nice gesture,” insisting there was no “mal intent,” but neglected to reveal whether her client had given his express permission for the GoFundMe page.
In a video posted to his Instagram, Rourke slammed the fundraiser, insisting he would “never take a nickel of charity.” Picture: Instagram/Mickey Rourke
She added that any fans who had donated money would see those funds returned if Rourke declines to accept the sum raised.
“My assistant started it to help Mickey as a nice gesture because he was being forced out of his home. It was not done with any mal intent,” she said.
“The money has not gone anywhere. If Mickey decides he does not want it, the money will be returned to his fans.”
The fundraiser was started days after Rourke’s landlord, Eric Goldie, filed paperwork with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in which he claimed that the actor had failed to comply with a notice issued December 18, informing him that he had three days to either pay the $US59,100 ($A87,600) he owes or vacate the premises.
The actor was revealed to still be living at the abode more than a week after the notice was served, when he was photographed collecting several food deliveries left just outside the front door of the property on New Year’s Day, according to the New York Post.
Rourke has been accused by his landlord of failing to pay $US59,100 ($A87,600) in rent on the property, which is located in the Beverly Grove neighbourhood of Los Angeles and was initially leased to the actor for $US5,200 ($A7,700) a month.
However, that monthly cost was later increased to $US7,000 ($A10,300), the court documents note.
Mr Goldie is asking a court to force Rourke — whose real name is Philip Andre Rourke Jr. — to pay him damages and legal fees.
In the description of the GoFundMe page Ms Jones hailed Rourke as a “force of nature — raw, fearless, and utterly original.”
She went on to describe the “years of struggle” that Rourke went through after quitting his acting career to pursue boxing, a move that Ms Jones said was prompted by a desire to find “truth and authenticity.”
“At the height of his success, he stepped away from Hollywood in search of truth and authenticity, choosing risk over comfort,” she wrote.
“Boxing — real and punishing — left lasting physical and emotional scars, and the industry that once celebrated him moved on quickly.
The page is being managed by Liya-Joelle Jones, a member of Rourke’s management team. Picture: GoFundMe
“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.”
“Mickey Rourke is an icon — but his trajectory, as painful as it is, is also a deeply human one,” she added.
“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.
“What remains is a person who deserves dignity, housing, and the chance to regain his footing.
“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.”
Although the on-screen star’s current financial situation is not known, this is not the first time he has been accused of falling behind on his rent, having previously been pursued by a landlord in New York, who claimed in 2017 that the actor owed him $US30,000 ($A44,500) for unpaid rent on a Tribeca loft.
According to the New York Post, Rourke also caused close to $US10,000 ($A15,000) worth of damage to the property, including unauthorised installation of “disco light fixtures” in the ceiling, a broken lock, a damaged bathtub, and holes in the wall.
He was accused of ceasing his rent payments in October 2016, two months before his lease came to an end in December of that year.
Rourke is understood to have first leased the two-bedroom unit in November 2014, when he signed an 18-month contract.
That lease was then extended in April 2016 through the end of that year.
According to The Blast, the actor was later ordered to pay $US32,511.06 ($A48,235.03) to his New York landlord as part of a default notice issued by a judge when he failed to show up to court.
Rourke has shared several images of himself outside of the property, revealing that he set up a DIY gym on the back porch. Picture: Instagram/Mickey Rourke
Rourke has previously admitted to running into money troubles when his career took a nosedive — resulting in what he described as the loss of “everything.”
“I lost everything. My house, my wife, my credibility, my career,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2008.
“I even lost my entourage, which is when you know things are really bad.
“I just had all this anger from my childhood, which was really shame, not anger, and used it as armour and machismo to cover up my wounds.
“Unfortunately, the way I acted really frightened people, although it was really just me who was scared.
“But I was like this person who was short-circuited and I didn’t know how to fix myself.”
His career ran into further trouble earlier this year, when Rourke was asked to leave the Celebrity Big Brother house in the UK for displaying what producers referred to as “unacceptable behaviour.”
A representative for the show alleged in April that he had used “inappropriate language,” including speech that was considered “threatening and aggressive.”
However, Rourke later hit back at the British TV show, revealing in a statement shared by his manager that he planned to sue the production company over claims it was refusing to pay him his full fee for appearing on the reality series.
“There’s no question that when ‘Big Brother’ booked Mickey Rourke, they were fully aware of both his public persona and how it aligned with his Hollywood rebel image,” his manager, Kimberly Hines, wrote.
“In our discussions, ‘Big Brother’ was made fully aware of Mickey Rourke’s background and lifestyle.
“Yet rather than handle it professionally, they took it too far — publicly embarrassing him and using his removal as a marketing tool.
“That’s not just unprofessional; it’s deeply disrespectful and damaging.”
Parts of this story first appeared in Realtor and was republished with permission.
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