Mickey Rourke slams 'humiliating' GoFundMe campaign set up to pay his rent

Mickey Rourke has slammed the “humiliating and embarrassing” GoFundMe campaign that has been set up to help him pay his rent.

The 73-year-old actor is said to owe $US59,100 ($A88,000) in rent on his Los Angeles home and a crowdfunding campaign has been set up to help him cover his bills - however, Rourke is adamant he has nothing to do with the charity drive and has urged his fans not to hand over any cash to it.

In a video on his Instagram page, he explained: “Something’s come up that I’m really frustrated, confused (about) and I don’t understand. Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me to donate money like charity and that’s not me. OK.

“I’d rather, if I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f***ing charity.

“So whoever did this, I don’t know ... why they did it. I don’t understand it. I wouldn’t know what a GoFundMe foundation is in a million years. My life is very simple, I don’t go to outside sources like that and, yeah, it is embarrassing but I’m sure I’ll get over it like everything else.”

Rourke admitted he had had suffered financial problems in recent years - putting his troubles down to the lack of acting work during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hollywood strikes - and he revealed he had borrowed money from a friend to help him through.

However, The Wrestler star was adamant the GoFundMe page called Support Mickey to Prevent Eviction was not authorised.

“This thing is very embarrassing and if you’ve given money ... don’t give any money and if you gave money, get it back. Whether you gave cash or a cheque or whoever you sent it to and I’m going to talk to my lawyer ... and get to the bottom of this,” he said.

“There’s only one person I can think of that would do such a thing, and I hope that it’s not the person I’m thinking about. It’s humiliating.

Rourke said he had been going through troubles with his rental home in Los Angeles but he was adamant he stopped paying rent because the landlords did not fix problems with the house and the case was due to be fought out in court.

“I was in a really bad situation with the place I was renting. Everything was good for five or six years and then two scumbags from New York bought the house and they wouldn’t fix anything so I said: ‘I’m not paying rent because there’s mice, there’s rats, the floor is rotten, one bathtub there’s no water, in two different sinks there was no water’.

“And this (GoFundMe) has all come at the same time. I don’t know if those guys, those scumbags are behind it ... we are going to go to court but I would never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. I mean that’s not my style.”