"He tried to get under my skin and wanted to offend me" - Jojo Siwa speaks about Mickey Rourke clash on Celebrity Big Brother

Speaking to The Guardian in an article published on June 2, 2025, JoJo Siwa opens up about how Celebrity Big Brother cast member Mickey Rourke targeted her in the show.

During the second day of the show's production, 72-year-old actor Mickey Rourke used homophobic language towards JoJo Siwa. After he asked her if she liked "girls or boys," he also went on to say,

"If I stay longer than four days, you won't be gay anymore."

He claimed that he would "tie (her) up." While reacting to this incident, Siwa told the outlet,

"As it was happening, I just froze. Some rat doesn't get to ruin this for me. It's only day two."

Rourke also received backlash for saying that he was "going to vote the lesbian out real quick" before making further comments about her s*xuality. As a result, Big Brother issued him a warning saying,

"Further language or behavior of this nature could lead to you being removed from the Big Brother house."

However, Rourke did apologize to JoJo Siwa and told the housemates that his comments were not "out of meanness."

"I wanted to give him a chance" - says JoJo Siwa about Mickey Rourke

While recalling Mickey Rourke's use of homophobic language towards her during their stint in season 7 of Celebrity Big Brother, JoJo Siwa said that the actor was acting out of character deliberately to get under her skin.

"He mentioned to me that he knew what he was doing, that he tried to get under my skin and wanted to offend me, all this s**t. That's what made me super upset - that was really hard to take."

However, Siwa does not believe that Rourke should have been removed sooner since she wanted to give him a "chance." Rourke left the show in an April 13 episode after using "inappropriate language and instances of unacceptable behavior," according to ITV.

"I wanted to give him a chance, and I think production could see that as well. Think about where we got to go from there: we got to have laughs with him (and) beautiful conversations about inclusion, and what you can and can't say."

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While looking back at her interactions with Rourke, Siwa noted that she realized that the actor didn't "hate" her but was a "very hurt man."

Rourke also offended another housemate, The Only Way Is Essex star, Ella Rae Wise, who, during a diary room conversation with Big Brother, said that his s*xual jokes made her feel uncomfortable since she's a "young girl" and not a "piece of meat."

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