Mickey Rourke in hot soup for homophobic comments on Celebrity Big Brother

Actor Mickey Rourke received a formal warning from Big Brother for making homophobic comments towards JoJo Siwa on Celebrity Big Brother. He has been panned for the comments, and ITV, which airs the show, criticised for casting him and airing the remarks. While Rourke apologized, the incident sparked debate about the responsibility of reality TV producers in preventing and addressing such behaviour.

Mickey Rourke, known for films like 9½ Weeks and The Wrestler, made several comments about JoJo Siwa's sexuality on Celebrity Big Brother. After asking Siwa about her sexual orientation, Rourke told her, “If I stay longer than four days, you won't be gay any more.” He also stated his intention to “vote the lesbian out real quick” and made a remark about smoking a “fag” while gesturing towards Siwa.

Big Brother formally warned Rourke , stating that his “language was offensive and unacceptable", and similar behaviour could lead to his being asked to leave the show.


Rourke later apologized to Siwa, claiming he was "just talking smack" and didn’t have “dishonourable intentions.” Siwa accepted his apology. “I apologise. I don't have dishonourable intentions - I'm just talking smack, you know. I wasn't taking it all so serious. I didn't mean in it any bad intentions and if I did, sorry.”

Siwa can nominate a housemate for eviction and after the controversy, there is a likelihood that Rourke will be out of the show on Friday’s episode.

ITV, which resurrected Celebrity Big Brother in 2023 after cancelling it in 2018, came under the hammer for the incident. Some argue that casting Rourke, given his past behaviour, was irresponsible while others reasoned that airing the homophobic comment, even with a reprimand, normalizes such behaviour.

This incident also draws parallels to past controversies in reality television, such as the racial abuse directed at Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother in 2005.

Rourke’s behavior on Celebrity Big Brother also includes accusations of “ogling” and “groping” presenter AJ Odudu.