A judge recently entered an eviction ruling against actor Mickey Rourke who, despite owing nearly $60,000 (RM236,000) in unpaid rent at his Beverly Grove home, rejected more than $100,000 (RM393,000) raised in a GoFundMe campaign coordinated by his manager to keep him housed.
On Monday, a judge issued a default eviction ruling in favor of Rourke's landlord, Eric Goldie, for possession of the home and termination of the rental agreement, according to documents in Los Angeles Superior Court. The default ruling means that Rourke failed to take action to defend against the eviction complaint within the time allowed by law.
Rourke, who was a leading man in the 1980s with movies including Barfly and Angel Heart and was later Oscar-nominated for his role in 2008's The Wrestler, was served a three-day notice to pay rent or vacate the premises on Dec 18 and failed to comply, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
On Dec 29, his landlord filed the eviction complaint, alleging that Rourke owed him $59,100 in back rent on the $7,000-a-month rental.
In January, Rourke's management team set up a GoFundMe to help keep the actor in his home, with his representative Kimberly Hines listed as the benefactor. Hines did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
"Mickey Rourke is an icon — but his trajectory, as painful as it is, is also a deeply human one," read the description for the since-shuttered GoFundMe. "It is the story of someone who gave everything to his work, took real risks, and paid real costs. Fame does not protect against hardship, and talent does not guarantee stability. What remains is a person who deserves dignity, housing, and the chance to regain his footing."
Fans quickly rallied to support the 73-year-old, with around 2,700 donors raising more than $100,000 within three days.
But Rourke refused to accept the money, denouncing the campaign in a Jan 5 video posted on his Instagram as "humiliating" and stating he would rather shoot himself (in a rather graphic way) than accept charity.
Rourke said he was in a "really bad situation" after new owners purchased the home he had been renting for years and would not fix anything. "I said I'm not paying rent, because there's mice, there's rats, the floor is rotten, one bathtub there is no water," he said in the video.
The Iron Man 2 villain said he didn't know who started the GoFundMe but assured fans he would speak to his lawyer and get to the bottom of it. He repeatedly urged anyone who donated to get their money back.
Hines, his manager of nine years, previously told the Hollywood Reporter that it was not true that he did not know who started the fundraiser, noting that she and her assistant ran the idea past Rourke's assistant and everyone agreed it would be helpful.
"Nobody's trying to grift Mickey. I want him working. I don't want him doing a GoFundMe," Hines told THR in January. She said she had arranged to move him out of the unit and into an apartment in Koreatown, noting that the Beverly Grove home had severe water damage and black mold.
An attorney for the landlord did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment Tuesday. - Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
