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Actor Mickey Rourke has denounced an online fundraiser that was set up in his name, and designed to pay off $60,000 (£44,000, A$89,000) that he allegedly owes in rent on his Los Angeles home.
Rourke posted a video on social media, in response to news stories that emerged on Monday that his management team had launched a fundraiser with his permission, having said Rourke was threatened with eviction.
In the clip, Rourke denied any prior knowledge of the fundraiser, saying: “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? If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no fucking charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger.”
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Saying “I’m not the wild man I was 20 years ago”, Rourke told fans not to donate. “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 [£74,000, A$145,400]. I wouldn’t take a fucking nickel of charity from anybody.”
He added: “Whoever did this … I don’t know why they did it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years.”
The GoFundMe page was created on Sunday by Liya-Joelle Jones, assistant to Rourke’s manager Kimberly Hines. Jones wrote that the fundraiser was “created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent that from happening”.
Hines told Deadline: “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. The money has not gone anywhere. If Mickey decides he does not want it, the money will be returned to his fans.”
In his post, Rourke indicated he was in dispute with his landlord over the condition of the property. Hines had said that Rourke was living in a hotel after being served with an eviction notice from the property where The Big Sleep author Raymond Chandler lived in the 1940s. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Rourke received the notice in late December.
Saying “You pay the price for your past,” Rourke added: “I don’t need anybody’s money. I wouldn’t do it this way, I got too much pride, man. It ain’t my style.”
