Actor Mickey Rourke said a GoFundMe created on his behalf was “humiliating” and that it had been set up without his knowledge.
The 73-year-old actor shared a video on his Instagram account on Monday, expressing his feelings about the campaign to help him avoid eviction, which has raised more than its $100,000 goal as of Tuesday morning.
Rourke said he was “frustrated” and “confused” over the fundraiser and insisted it was done without his approval. “That’s not me, okay?” the Golden Globe winner said. “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.”
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“I wouldn’t know what a GoFundMe foundation is in a million years. My life is very simple, I wouldn’t go to outside sources like that,” he added. Rourke also called the fundraising campaign “embarrassing” and said, “There’s only one person I can think of that would do such a thing, and I hope it’s not the person I’m thinking about. It’s humiliating.”
In the video, Rourke acknowledged borrowing money from a friend when he needed it, but said he would “never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. That’s not my style.” He also urged fans not to give any money, and if they already had donated, to “get it back.”
The actor said he knew how much was raised and reiterated that he didn’t want it. “Get your money back, please,” he repeated during the video message to fans.
Rourke also admitted that he did a “terrible job” managing his career.
“I wasn’t diplomatic. I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago. I worked very hard to work through that. I’m not that person anymore.”
The campaign was apparently started by a woman named Liya-Joelle Jones, who claimed to be the assistant to Rourke’s manager, Kimberly Hines. The GoFundMe description said it was “created with Mickey’s full permission.”
The actor was reportedly served notice in December to pay $60,000 in back rent or vacate the premises. According to TMZ, Rourke was seen checking into a West Hollywood hotel with his dog on Sunday.
Rourke’s Hollywood career stalled after a stint in boxing, but he staged a comeback with “The Wrestler” (2008).
That role earned him the Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He went on to appear in major Hollywood movies, including “Iron Man 2” (2010), “The Expendables” (2010), and “Immortals” (2011) before moving on to independent and direct-to-TV films.
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