The latest news is that Mickey Rourke has filmed his last scene on the reality show Celebrity Big Brother UK. His decision follows a string of racist, sexist and other violent acts and speech. According to the producers, he was repeatedly warned over three different occasions for inappropriate behavior. He was horrendously disrespectful to his fellow housemate JoJo Siwa and showed violently threatening actions towards host AJ Odudu. His exit is a big turning point this season on the series. He was literally in danger of being the first contestant ever voted out.
Things took a tragic turn once Rourke stepped inside the home. He allegedly just groped and leered at Odudu, leading co-host Will Best to warn him that “Careful, Mickey. This fluke accident, coupled with his later statements, like the one above, prompted producers to warn him three times for dangerous behavior.
Rourke’s mistreatment of JoJo Siwa contributed to fears about his behavior. He made a series of homophobic remarks, including, “I’m going to vote the lesbian out real quick,” to which Siwa responded that it was “homophobic” if that was indeed his reasoning for the nomination. Rourke followed up with another controversial statement, claiming, “If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore,” which drew immediate backlash from both Siwa and viewers.
In a recent confession, Rourke attempted to downplay his remarks by stating, “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.” Unfortunately for him, his limited attempts to clarify the situation only seemed to heighten the criticism.
After hearing from producers and other contestants that his behavior was inappropriate, Rourke accumulated more and more pressure. Either way, in the end he did not continue in the program. He was given additional powers to nominate one housemate for automatic public nomination. Seeing the opportunity, he set his sights on Siwa. In reply, Siwa pointed out that Rourke’s statements had actually made her “killer nomination choice super easy,” alluding to his old homophobic statements.
Mickey Rourke’s exit should remind us all that reality television really is a talent show on the world’s biggest stage. We producers want to create a space where everyone feels respected and included and when not respecting others becomes part of the act, that behavior must be called out.