Mickey Rourke is reportedly set to miss out on his rumoured £500,000 fee after being ejected from the Celebrity Big Brother house. The Hollywood actor, who was shown the door yesterday due to his conduct, will allegedly receive less than his agreed fee following his removal from the show.
“Mickey won’t be receiving all his money from ITV,” an insider told The Sun. “If a celebrity gets removed from the house, they don’t get the full fee. It’s as simple as that and they will be discussing that with him. Mickey was ready to leave the house and it ended up feeling like a mutual decision between him and ITV in the end. It was getting too much.”
It emerged that the Hollywood star was asked to leave the house following a clash with fellow contestant Chris Hughes, which resulted in behaviour and language considered threatening and aggressive.
Since the show kicked off last Monday, The Wrestler’s Micky, 72, has found himself at the centre of several controversies – including a homophobia scandal that led to a formal warning from Big Brother earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Mickey received a stern warning from the show after he told JoJo Siwa that she “won’t be gay anymore” after spending a few days in the house with him, before announcing to other housemates: “I’m going to vote the lesbian out real quick.”
In a dramatic turn of events on the reality TV stage, Mickey was sternly warned by Big Brother after telling other stars he needed “a fag” and dismissively remarking to JoJo: “I’m not talking to you.”
His comment didn’t go unaddressed as Chris swiftly took him to task before Mickey received a formal warning in the diary room.
The controversy didn’t end there; throughout the week, Mickey faced sharp criticism from audiences for “fat-shaming” contestant Donna Preston by suggesting she’d be “better off running around the block for ten minutes” and adding: “It’s like they say, you are what you eat.”
In Friday’s tense live eviction episode, Patsy Palmer, famed for her role in EastEnders, broke down in tears following Mickey’s barbed remarks about her culinary skills in the house.
Reflecting on the confrontation with Big Brother, an emotional Patsy admitted: “I tried to talk that one out but it didn’t really work. I feel like I let myself down there and I don’t want my reactions to be like that,” resolving to take the higher ground despite her hurt feelings.
“I always want my kids to always stand up for themselves. Maybe it was just a joke – maybe I need to look at it like that. I need to try to rise above it. It doesn’t mean I have to like him,” she added.
Against this backdrop of turmoil, Michael Fabricant, Mickey’s housemate who’d recently been evicted himself, shed light on Mickey’s abrupt departure via a social media post.
Taking to X to share the news of Mickey’s removal from the show, Michael wrote: “He wanted to leave on Day One,” alongside an exclamation mark emoji.