Topics: Mickey Rourke, Celebrity, News, Property
Mickey Rourke has spoken out after news of his eviction from a Los Angeles home became public.
The actor declined roughly $100,000 raised by fans through GoFundMe after reports surfaced about his housing situation.
Earlier this week, a judge ruled in favor of the property owner, granting possession of the home and terminating Rourke’s rental agreement. The decision came after the actor and former boxer failed to pay $60,000 in outstanding rent on the property.
He had been served with a three-day notice in December to either pay the overdue rent or vacate the Beverly Grove residence, according to the Los Angeles Times. Court filings indicate he did not meet the deadline, leading to the eviction order.
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On March 9 the actor was ordered to vacate his home, and he is now speaking out about why he did not pay the outstanding rent.
“The reason I stopped paying rent was because the living conditions in the house had become unacceptable,” he told E! News. “For months there were serious problems that repeatedly went unaddressed despite my efforts to have them fixed. Withholding rent was not a decision I made lightly. I simply could not continue paying for a house that was in such poor condition after so many attempts to have these issues corrected.
According to the court documents on the March 9 judgement, which do not mention Rourke’s claims about the property, was filed in default in favor of the landlord.
Rourke’s landlord filed an eviction complaint over the unpaid fees at the end of December, which resulted in Rourke's management creating a GoFundMe page to try and raise funds.
The assistant to Rourke's manager, Kimberley Hines, created the page and in the bio stated that they'd received his 'full permission' to do so.
Part of the lengthy bio read: "Mickey is facing a very real and urgent situation: the threat of eviction from his home. This fundraiser is being created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent that from happening."
Over $102,000 was raised in just 48 hours for the 73-year-old, surpassing its target.
Rourke then addressed the GoFundMe page, however, branding it 'humiliating' and encouraging his fans not to donate.
Rourke responded on social media and urged his fans to get their money back. "If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f**king charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my a** and pull the trigger,” he said.
