A Los Angeles County court ordered Mickey Rourke’s eviction after the Oscar-nominated actor turned down help from fans who’d donated more than $100,000 to keep a roof over this head.
Landlord Eric Goldie won a default judgment against defendant Philip Andre Rourke, “aka Mickey Rourke,” on Monday, court records showed.
Rourke had signed a lease agreement through at least April 30 of last year, with rent starting at $5,200 before going up to $7,000 a month, for the three-bedroom home at 6520 Drexel Ave. in Los Angeles, according to court records.
Rourke fell months behind and owed Goldie $59,100, including legal fees, by the end of last year, Goldie said in court papers.
“The reason I stopped paying rent was because the living conditions in the house had become unacceptable,” Rourke said in a statement Wednesday.
“For months there were serious problems that repeatedly went unaddressed despite my efforts to have them fixed,” he said. “There were ongoing rodent issues that required multiple visits but were never fully resolved, and the bathroom and plumbing frequently did not work.”
Goldie and his lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
“I made repeated requests for repairs, but the problems continued and basic maintenance was never properly handled,” Rourke’s statement said. “Withholding rent was not a decision I made lightly. I simply could not continue paying for a house that was in such poor condition after so many attempts to have these issues corrected.”
Just after the new year, Rourke’s manager had organized a GoFundMe effort to help raise $100,000 so he could pay back rent and “stay in his home” during this “extremely stressful time.”
Fans quickly helped the campaign reach its six-digit goal so Rourke would avoid eviction because of “health challenges, financial strain, and the quiet toll of being left behind.”
But Rourke said in a video on Instagram that he never authorized the fundraiser, and he said he was “frustrated” and “confused” because he was unaware of the campaign.
“That’s not me, OK?” he continued. “I’d rather, if I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for no f—ing charity. I’d rather stick a gun up my a– and pull the trigger.”
“My life is very simple. I wouldn’t go to outside sources like that,” he added, later calling the campaign “embarrassing.”