Mickey Rourke has been called out by Celebrity Big Brother viewers after leaving “British icon” Patsy Palmer in tears.
The actor, whose credits include Angel Heart, 9 1/2 Weeks and the Oscar-nominated drama The Wrestler, has caused controversy since entering the ITV compound on Monday (7 April).
After “ogling” the reality show’s co-host AJ Odudu upon his entrance, he then made homophobic comments to fellow housemate JoJo Siwa – and offended actor Donna Preston with a comment about her weight.
He has also taken aim at EastEnders actor Palmer, known for playing Bianca, over her cooking. Earlier this week, Rourke told his fellow housemates, including Palmer, that Big Brother “needed to work” on delivering better meals, unaware that it was actually Palmer who had been cooking.
In the latest episode, which saw Michael Fabricant become the first star to be evicted, the housemates were sitting around the kitchen table eating a lunch prepared by Palmer, when an interaction with Rourke turned sour.
“What do you know? You can’t cook,” Rourke told Palmer, who responded: “I can’t cook?”
Rourke replied: “Not even a little bit,” to which Palmer, laughing the comment off, told her fellow housemates: “I hope that might have been a sarcastic joke.”
However, later on, Palmer broke down in tears in the Diary Room, expressing frustration that she hadn’t stuck up for herself.
“I tried to talk that one out but it didn’t really work,” she told Big Brother. “I feel like I let myself down there and I don’t want my reactions to be like that. 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.”
Celebrity Big Brother viewers have been left infuriated with Rourke after seeing how upset he made Palmer, who is currently one of the favourites to win the show alongside former Love Island contestant and sports broadcaster Chris Hughes.
“Mickey did not need to make a horrible comment about Patsy’s cooking in front of everyone!” one viewer wrote on X/Twitter. “How dare Mickey Rourke make our British Institution and icon Patsy Palmer cry.”
Others pointed out that Rourke has not appeared to cook a single dish for anyone, stating: “How dare you hurt our Patsy Mickey. Never seen him lift a finger to cook.”
