Bella Thorne accuses Mickey Rourke of on-set misconduct
Mickey Rourke’s been making headlines recently, largely on account of the way he’s been acting on the current season of the U.K.’s Celebrity Big Brother: Making allusions to slurs, telling 21-year-old co-star JoJo Siwa that he could “turn her straight,” and just generally seeming hostile and baffled at the existence of gay people in 2025. (It got bad enough that he picked up a formal reprimand from the show’s producers.) That’s now led to some wider accusations against the veteran actor, with former co-star Bella Thorne opening up about some extremely unpleasant experiences she had with Rourke on the set of the 2020 film Girl.
Posting on her Instagram Story, and then also on Twitter/X, Thorne wrote over a picture of Rourke, “This fucking dude. GROSS. I had to work with this man—in a scene where I’m on my knees with my hands zip-tied around my back. He’s supposed to take a metal grinder to my knee cap and instead he used it on my genitals thru my jeans. Hitting them over and over again. I had bruises on my pelvic bone. Working with Mickey was one of the all-time worst experiences of my life working as an actress.”
In another post, Thorne detailed other unprofessional behavior Rourke allegedly exhibited on the set of the low-budget film: “So many gross stories of things he made me go thru on that movie, including in his last scene to speed up and rev his engine so he could cover me completely in dirt. Idk I guess he thought it was funny to humiliate me in front of the entire crew. Having to go in his trailer absolutely alone because he refused to speak to the director or producers—so I had to convince him to show up and complete his job, as he shouted crazy demands that he wanted from the producers. In fact I had to beg. Alone. In his trailer. Since the movie could not be finished without him. Everyone’s work would’ve just been lost and completely for nothing. I didn’t wanna do it. I was uncomfortable, but I did what I was asked to do and what was best for the movie. Mickey should’ve never put anybody in that movie in any of those positions that he did.”
Per Variety, Rourke’s reps issued a quick statement in response to Thorne’s allegations, which, we’ll just say, reads kind of like the sort of thing you might keep on hand with a couple of blanks all set to swiftly fill in, were Mickey Rourke one of your clients. The statement asserts that Rourke and his team are,
Aware of the statements made by Bella Thorne regarding her experience on set with Mr. Rourke during the production of a past film. These allegations are extremely serious. Mr. Rourke adamantly denies any intentional misconduct. He was not made aware of any such concerns during filming and had no prior knowledge of Ms. Thorne’s discomfort until now. Out of respect for all parties and given the gravity of the claims, Mr. Rourke will not be making further public comment at this time. He remains willing to cooperate with any appropriate inquiry through the proper channels. We affirm the right of every performer to feel safe and respected in their work environment.