Mickey Rourke confirmed he is not involved with the GoFundMe campaign that was launched under the premise of helping the actor to stay in his home.
In late December, The Wrestler actor was sued by his landlord, who alleged that Rourke owed nearly $60,000 in rent on the three-bedroom Spanish bungalow just south of West Hollywood that he was living in. In response, Liya-Joelle Jones launched a GoFundMe to “Help Mickey Rourke Stay in His Home.”
Rourke, however, says he has no knowledge of the fundraising effort and isn’t asking fans for any money. In a video posted to Instagram on Monday night, Rourke said he is “frustrated” and “confused” by the situation. He explained that he learned about the GoFundMe, but didn’t understand why it was created.
“That’s not me, okay?” Rourke said. “I’d rather, 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. So whoever did this, I don’t know if they did it—why they did it. I don’t understand it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFund foundation is in a million years. My life is very simple. I don’t go to outside sources like that.”
He added that it is “embarrassing.” “But I’m sure I’ll get over it like anything else,” Rourke said. “Everything else. Listen, I’ve done a really terrible job in managing my career. I wasn’t very diplomatic. I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago. And I worked very hard to work through that. And I’m not that person anymore… I’m not that wild man that I was twenty-something years ago. But you pay the price for your past.”
Rourke told fans not to give any money to the GoFundMe campaign. “Get it back,” he said. He added that he plans to speak with his lawyer to “get to the bottom of this.”
“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,” Rourke said. “It’s humiliating.” He confirmed that he has previously borrowed money from a “good friend,” but if he needed money he would ask. “But I would never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel,” he said. “That’s not my style… I wouldn’t take a fucking nickel from charity or from anybody.”
He added, “I don’t want anybody’s money. I don’t want anybody to send me money. I want you to get your money back.”
As of early Tuesday morning, the GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $97,000. The page states, “Life doesn’t always move in a straight line, and despite everything Mickey has given through his work and his life, he is now dealing with a challenging financial moment that has put his housing at risk. This fundraiser is being created with Mickey’s full permission to help cover immediate housing-related expenses and prevent eviction.”
Earlier this week, Jones spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about setting up the campaign on Rourke’s behalf. “Mickey is going through a very difficult time right now, and it’s been incredibly touching to see how many people care about him and want to help,” she said. The publication names her a friend and a member of Rourke’s management team.
Rourke received a three-day eviction notice on Dec. 18, according to the Los Angeles Times. He signed the lease in March 2025 for $5,200 per month. It was later raised to $7,000 per month.
The actor gained acclaim for his role as a fast-talking hustler in Barry Levinson’s coming-of-age comedy Diner. He later starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish and 9 ½ Weeks with Kim Basinger. After a lull in his career, Rourke mounted a comeback thanks to roles in Sin City, Iron Man 2, and his Oscar-nominated turn in The Wrestler. While Rourke has continued to maintain a steady stream of roles over the past decade, he’s largely appeared in direct-to-video films.
