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Mickey Rourke handed over a shotgun to authorities this week, as “NBC4 Investigates” reports. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said emergency services responded to the scene on Wednesday following a call from a member of the actor’s entourage. He explained that Rourke wanted to hand over the weapon.
The officers spoke directly with Rourke, according to the agency. The actor said he was leaving the area and no longer wanted to keep the shotgun that was legally registered to him.
The weapon is being kept by the authorities for safekeeping purposes. According to NBC4, it will be destroyed if Rourke doesn’t demand it back within a year.
No statement was made
A spokesman for Rourke did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news comes amid a fundraising and real estate dispute surrounding Rourke and his manager. The actor was already sued by his landlord in December. He claimed that Rourke owed him almost $60,000 in rent for a bungalow south of West Hollywood. After the performer was threatened with eviction, his longtime manager Kimberly Hines and her assistant started a GoFundMe campaign.
Rourke’s public distancing
Despite raising more than $90,000, Rourke stated in a Jan. 5 Instagram video that he had nothing to do with the fundraiser. “If I needed money, I wouldn’t ask for fucking charity,” he said. He further added: “I would rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger.” He doesn’t know who started the campaign or why.
Hines later told The Hollywood Reporter that the GoFundMe campaign was not a scam. She said Rourke knew who was behind the effort, but acknowledged that he may not have fully understood what GoFundMe was when she presented the idea to him.
Dispute over living conditions
The manager also commented on Rourke’s living situation. About a year and a half ago, the house he lived in was bought by Eric Goldie. He allegedly increased the rent from $5,200 to $7,000. Goldie later sued Rourke over unpaid rent. However, Hines claimed the home was “uninhabitable,” with “black mold” and “no running water.”
After Rourke’s public rejection of the fundraiser, Hines told fans that donors would get their money back if Rourke didn’t want the support. “He calls me for money. He calls friends for money,” Hines said. “A GoFundMe campaign is set up for him, and now he’s turning it down? ‘Okay, Mick, no problem.’ But nobody did anything wrong here.”
“$96,000 Misunderstanding”
A joint Instagram post from Rourke and World Boxing News on January 9 said the incident was a “$96,000 misunderstanding.” It was also announced that donations to Rourke’s housing fund had officially been paused.
In his own comment under the post, Rourke wrote: “Don’t give any money, this is all fake bullshit.”