JoJo Siwa has shared details of an unaired conversation with her fellow Celebrity Big Brother star Mickey Rourke, after the actor made homophobic remarks towards her.
The Hollywood actor, 72, who rose to fame in Barry Levinson’s 1982 comedy drama Diner, used a homophobic slur during a conversation with singer Siwa, 21, during the first week of the ITV reality show in April.
After asking the Dance Moms star if she “like[s] girls or boys”, Rourke told Siwa that “if I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore,” before claiming that he would “tie [her] up”.
Speaking to The Guardian, Siwa said the incident affected her “even more than people know”.
“As it was happening, I just froze,” she said. However, after her shock wore off, she became defiant: “Some rat doesn’t get to ruin this for me. It’s only day two.”
Rourke was given a formal warning by Celebrity Big Brother producers and apologised to Siwa on-camera for his “short fuse” – but Siwa said his later comments negated this. “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***.
“That’s what made me super upset – that was really hard to take.”
Rourke was removed from the Big Brother house just a few days later for “further use of inappropriate language and instances of unacceptable behaviour”. This arrived following a disagreement with fellow contestant Chris Hughes and a lewd comment directed towards The Only Way is Essex’s Ella Rae Wise.
Many viewers remarked that Rourke should have been removed from the programme sooner – but Siwa said she disagrees.
“I wanted to give him a chance, and I think production could see that as well,” she explained. “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.”
Siwa said those interactions gave her closure: “Like, ‘Oh, he doesn’t hate me; he’s a very hurt man.’”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
When asked if she’d ever experienced such blatant homophobia before, the “Karma” hitmaker replied: “Not to that level and not in person like that. It was definitely a first – but I was lucky. I had a lot of support in that house.”
The Independent has contacted Rourke’s representatives, ITV and Celebrity Big Brother producers Banijay for further comment.
Siwa finished third in the Celebrity Big Brother final, behind drag queen Danny Beard and Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd, who won.
The singer captivated viewers’ attention with her close friendship with former Love Island contestant Chris Hughes.
She has since confirmed their relationship is no longer platonic: “It’s been a beautiful development, a beautiful connection, and I’m absolutely head over heels for him and he’s the same way,” she said.
