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Mickey Rourke has opened up about his abusive childhood and how he ‘does not want to be a victim’.
The Hollywood star has joined the likes of Jojo Siwa and Trisha Goddard in a star-studded lineup on Celebrity Big Brother.
However, fans of the show have slammed the 72-year-old’s activities so far after he was given a formal warning for making homophobic comments towards fellow housemate Jojo.
On Monday’s launch night he was also labelled ‘vile’ and ‘creepy’ after he grabbed the waist of host AJ Odudu.
Now, however, the actor has shed light on his abusive childhood after he revealed his real name.
After coming out of the bedroom, Mickey said: ‘I didn’t get to sleep so quick. I have insomnia.’
Jack P Shepherd joked: ‘This is you with insomnia? All you’ve done is sleep.’
In a rare show of emotion, Mickey then explained how he struggles to sleep ‘because of his childhood’ and ‘not being able to fix it’.
He then said ‘I didn’t want to be a victim,’ which made the other housemates visibly upset.
Before he could continue, Danny asked whether he can give him a hug which he accepted.
What did Mickey Rourke say to JoJo Siwa on Celebrity Big Brother?
On Celebrity Big Brother 2025, Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke sparked uproar with homophobic comments that he made towards internet sensation JoJo Siwa.
Speaking in the House, Rourke, 72, asked Siwa, 21: ‘So do you like girls or boys?’
‘Me? Girls,’ Siwa answered, to which Rourke responded: ‘I know, I could tell.’
After the dancer shared that her partner is non-binary, the housemates who were in the garden started to talk about the eviction due to take place that week on Friday night.
‘If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore,’ Rourke remarked, as Siwa said back to him: ‘I can guarantee I will still be gay and I will still be in a very happy relationship.’
‘I’ll tie you up,’ The Wrestler actor replied.
‘I can promise you that won’t happen,’ Siwa stated. ‘I dare you to try, you’ll be the one tied up.’
Rourke then spoke to some other housemates, asking about the process of voting out other contestants on Celebrity Big Brother.
‘I’m going to vote the lesbian out real quick,’ he said, as Siwa – who was lying on a sun lounger – turned her head towards him and declared: ‘That’s homophobic.’
‘Eh?’ Rourke asked, as Siwa continued: ‘That’s homophobic if that was your reasoning.’
After the actor repeated that he was going to ‘vote the lesbian out’, he then used a slang word beginning with f to say that he wanted a cigarette.
However, he then gestured towards Siwa and quipped: ‘Not talking to you,’ seemingly referencing the f word that’s used as an anti-gay slur.
Love Island star Chris Hughes, who was sitting next to Rourke, told him: ‘You can’t say that Mickey,’ while Siwa kept her composure and said: ‘One breath at a time troops, one breath at a time.’
After Hughes repeated his warning to Rourke, the actor insisted that he had been talking about a cigarette before walking off on his own.
The reality TV star went over to check on Siwa, consoling her as she cried in his arms over the upset. At the same time, Rourke was called to the Diary Room, where he received a formal warning for his remarks.
Later on inside the lounge, Rourke went over to Siwa as he told her: ‘I want to apologise,’ telling her that he has a ‘bad habit of having a short fuse’.
‘I don’t mean nothing by it. Ok sorry,’ he said as he shook her hand, while she told him that she appreciated his apology.
Rourke’s homophobic comments towards Siwa happened a day after he was criticised for touching presenter AJ Odudu ‘inappropriately’ on stage.
Commenting on X, @ILOVEKATS369 said: ‘#CBBUK can we please not get rid of Mickey he’s the only entertainment in this house and he’s such an interesting character.’
@_LucasMichael_ added: ‘Mickey is an utterly fascinating being. Need him to stay. Such a complex character #CBBUK.’
Another user, @SevXx90, wrote: ‘Mickey bursting through the bedroom doors to the main house acting like the main character (which to some extent he is) and Pasty just uttering “oh I forgot about Mickey” has me absolutely howling 🤣.’
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On an earlier episode after talk show legend Trisha greeted him in the morning, putting on an Irish accent, the actor’s real identity was revealed.
Singer Chesney Hawkes remarked: ‘I guess you must have Irish roots, with a name like Rourke. Is that your actual name by the way?’
‘No my real name is Philip Andre,’ the Hollywood actor replied.
When asked where his stage name came from, he coyly replied: ‘That’s a long story.’
The long story he is referring to includes his abusive childhood before he became a movie star.
Born Phillip Andre Rourke Jr, he was named after his father who gave him the nickname Mickey due to him being a fan of the baseball player Mickey Mantle, The Sun reports.
But, after his father left his family home at an early age, Mickey’s step-father abused him, which led him to pick up boxing to get ‘hard’.
He then also used the nickname his father gave him instead of his real name.
This comes after fans’ minds were ‘blown’ after discovering Patsy Palmer’s real name as well.
Living in close quarters, the housemates have been getting to know one another since the ITV show launched on Monday.
On Tuesday’s Celebrity Big Brother episode, The Sandman actress Donna Preston was somewhat star-struck to be talking to soap legend Patsy, referring to her as her former EastEnders character Bianca Jackson.
‘It’s crazy that I’m talking to you, Bianca. Patsy Palmer, obviously. Great name. Really great name.’ the 38-year-old admitted.
But then Patsy dropped a bombshell: ‘My name’s not really Patsy Palmer, though. It’s Julie.’
In utter shock, Donna swore in response.
Celebrity Big Brother fans had a similar reaction to Donna’s on Instagram, with @Vickyfilthysentiments exclaiming: ‘There is no way anyone can start calling her Julie after all this time 😂👏 love it though. Mind boggle.’
@thatsabsolutelyanthony commented: ‘I thought this was a bit but Julie is actually her name.’
Echoing their sentiment, @dannmward shared: ‘Donna’s reaction spoke for us all.’
@kerryriches23 added: ‘Omg really?? This is amazing 👏🏻 and this is why we love @bbuk.’
Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV1.
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