Can We Get Mickey Rourke Out Of The Big Brother House, Please

Celebrity Big Brother kicked off a few nights ago, and already viewers are calling for Mickey Rourke to be removed from the house – and rightly so.

During last night’s episode, the actor made a string of homophobic and deeply offensive comments to singer and dancer JoJo Siwa.

First, Mickey asked her if she “liked boys or girls,” to which JoJo told him that she liked girls but that her partner is non-binary.

He then told her that she “wouldn’t be gay anymore” by the time she left the show, and said that he was going to “tie her up.”

 

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Later, while speaking about nominations (which the housemates are not permitted to do), Mickey said he was “going to vote the lesbian out real quick.”

He later stated that he wanted to “smoke a fag,” while gesturing towards JoJo. She turned away from him, laughing nervously, and said she wasn’t going to talk to him anymore.

Mickey was then called to the Diary Room and issued a warning for his behaviour. He later returned and apologised to JoJo, in a rather lack lustre manner, and seemingly the issue was resolved.

JoJo, of course, was visibly upset by the interaction and was comforted by former Love Islander and presenter Chris Hughes, who was pretty much the only housemate who actively stuck up for her.

During the interaction, he told Mickey, “you can’t say that”, said that JoJo was a “lovely girl” and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.

 

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He then asked JoJo if she was okay, and gave her a shoulder to cry on, while the other housemates sat and watched. He also said that Mickey’s words shouldn’t be brushed off, or blamed on the fact that he is from a “different generation.”

And he’s right. Mickey’s comments were actively homophobic. He didn’t just target JoJo, but used a slur on a television, which was only broadcast because he claimed he was talking about a cigarette.

How upsetting to be a young queer woman on a reality TV show only to have your identity attacked. How horrible must it be to know that that person was reprimanded with only a warning.

In the past, housemates have been removed from the Big Brother house for less. Rourke being a major draw for producers – and his pay packet likely being the highest among the housemates – shouldn’t give him free reign to spout hate and homophobia, but apparently it does.

ITV have a responsibility to their viewers, to the young queer people who might be watching, to show that hate speech should not be tolerated.

No matter how much they’re paying them to be there.