Mickey Rourke Was Formally Warned By Celebrity Big Brother UK After Homophobic Remarks About JoJo Siwa

Celebrity Big Brother UK has only just started on the 2025 TV schedule, and there's already some controversy about an incident involving two of its American Houseguests. Not long after CinemaBlend wrote about JoJo Siwa and Mickey Rourke appearing on the program, the latter received a formal warning for homophobic remarks made to the young pop star.

American Big Brother fans are no strangers to controversial moments in the CBS series, and it's the same case with other versions of the show. In this situation, it all began in the backyard when Mickey Rourke was learning about the rules of the game and issued a strange warning to JoJo Siwa if he wasn't evicted:

Siwa tried to laugh off the remark and refute it, and others tried to step in and assist in defusing the situation. Rourke continued to laugh after making the comments, but he eventually was diverted into another conversation.

It didn't take long before he was at it again. In a conversation with other Houseguests, he mentioned his intention to target JoJo Siwa when it comes time for eviction. He then capped it off by using a slur, under the guise he was asking for the British slang term for a cigarette:

After that, Celebrity Big Brother UK stepped in, asked Mickey Rourke to come to the diary room, and talked to him about his violation of the rules.

JoJo Siwa broke down into tears and was consoled by others, understanding she was frustrated and upset about what happened. The whole incident played out over five minutes, all of which was posted publicly by the show below:

Some time later, Mickey Rourke did find JoJo Siwa and apologized for his comments. Siwa accepted his apology but later used her Killer Nomination power to put him up for eviction. Siwa called the choice "pretty easy," and we'll have to see how the rest of the week plays out for the actor.

Big Brother in the United States instituted a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, which it had to enact in Season 25. Luke Valentine was ejected from the game after using a racial slur, and as fans wait to watch Season 27's live feeds with a Paramount+ subscription, we'll see if that's an effective deterrent to preventing incidents like this from happening again.

As for Mickey Rourke, this wouldn't be the first time he's broken the rules in a game he participated in. The actor made headlines on The Masked Singer after voluntarily disqualifying himself by removing his mask onstage. It remains to be seen what the actor will say about the latest incident should he leave the game soon and what other comments he may make about it.

Celebrity Big Brother UK is airing overseas on ITV, and if you're in the U.S.A., you can only catch up via its social media accounts. As for the American series, it's set to return for Season 27 this summer on CBS.