Yahoo Lifestyle Mickey Rourke Looks Unrecognizable in Rare TV Appearance
Actor Mickey Rourke, known for roles in films like The Wrestler and Iron Man 2, made a rare appearance on television as he joined the cast of Celebrity Big Brother UK.
The new season of the popular reality TV series premiered in the United Kingdom on April 7, with Rourke joining a cast that also includes JoJo Siwa, actress Donna Preston, and Olympic gold medalist Daley Thompson, among others.
In his introduction video for the show, Rourke described himself as "somewhat of an actor. Depends on who you talk to." The former boxer wore jeans, a black shirt and a black button-up. He added blue and gold cowboy boots and a black cowboy hat, along with a variety of necklaces and rings.
Fans reacted to his entrance video on social media, sharing concerns for a few different reasons. Some said that he was "scary" and "strange," while others didn't recognize the 72-year-old actor at all.
But he also got a lot of backlash for his actions in the first episode, as Rourke, while being introduced by hosts Will Best and AJ Odudu, took the latter's hand, spun her around, and then abruptly pulled her into his body, with Best commenting after, "Careful, Mickey."
Rourke kept staring at Odudu, to the point that she asked him, "Stop looking at me!" and when he was directed to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house, he said to Odudu, "I wanna stay with you."
Comedian Alan Carr asked Odudu about Rourke's behavior later, saying, via The Independent, "Can we talk about Mickey Rourke looking at you?...His tongue was hanging out." Odudu kept up a joking manner as she replied, "It literally was. I was like, 'You can’t afford these feathers, Mickey, no!’”
Fans have already started calling for his removal from the Celebrity Big Brother house, with comments on Instagram like, "The way he was with AJ I felt so uncomfortable I hope she’s okay ♥️," and "ITV. Do the right thing and remove him yourselves." As of writing, Rourke is still a part of the Celebrity Big Brother UK show.
