Mickey Rourke surrendered a shotgun to authorities this week, according to NBC4 Investigates. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said deputies responded to a call Wednesday from one of the actor’s team members, who said he wanted to turn in the firearm.
The agency said deputies spoke to Rourke and that the actor told them he would be leaving the area and no longer wanted the firearm, which was legally registered to him, and that it would be held by authorities for safekeeping, per the outlet. NBC4 added that the gun will be destroyed if Rourke does not retrieve it after a year.
A representative for Rourke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Back in December, The Wrestler actor was sued by his landlord, who alleged that Rourke owed nearly $60,000 in rent on his bungalow just south of West Hollywood. After the actor found himself facing eviction, Kimberly Hines, who’s been Rourke’s manager for over a decade, and her assistant launched a GoFundMe.
Despite more than $90,000 being raised, Rourke shared an Instagram video on Jan. 5 stating that he was not involved with the fundraiser and said, “If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no fucking charity,” adding, “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.”
Hines later told The Hollywood Reporter that the GoFundMe was not a “grift” and said that the actor was aware of who was behind the effort, while also acknowledging that it was possible Rourke didn’t fully understand what a GoFundMe was when she presented the idea to him.
The manger also shared insight into Rourke’s housing situation and said a year-and-a-half ago the residence he had been staying at was purchased by Eric Goldie, who allegedly raised the rent from $5,200 to $7,000. Goldie later sued Rourke for unpaid rent, but Hines claimed that the house was “uninhabitable,” with “black mold” and “no running water.”
Given Rourke’s denouncement of the GoFundMe, Hines told fans that if Rourke didn’t want the money, donors would be reimbursed. “He’s calling me for money. He’s calling friends for money,” claimed Hines. “A GoFund is set up for him, and now he’s rejecting it? ‘OK, Mick, no problem.’ But nobody here has done anything wrong.”
In a joint Instagram post shared by Rourke and World Boxing News on Jan. 9, a statement announced that the debacle had been a “$96,000 Misunderstanding” and that “Donations for Mickey Rourke’s housing fundraiser have been officially paused.”
In his own comment on the post, Rourke wrote, “Don’t give any money its all fake bullshit.”
