Bella Thorne is speaking out amid growing concerns over Mickey Rourke’s behavior on Celebrity Big Brother UK.
On Friday, April 11, the 27-year-old actress shared a post on her Instagram Stories recalling the time she spent working alongside Rourke on their 2020 movie Girl. Thorne starred in the film as a young woman who discovers her father has been killed after returning to her small hometown, while Rourke, 72, starred as a sinister sheriff.
“This f—ing dude. GROSS,” Thorne wrote while sharing a BBC article about Rourke receiving a formal warning on CBB UK. “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,” she continued. “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.”
Reps for Thorne and Rourke have not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on Friday.
Sharing her same Instagram Stories post on X, Thorne added, “So … yeah. Ew.”
She followed up by alleging that she had “many gross stories” from her time working with Rourke on the revenge thriller, including a claim that he “completely” covered her in dirt by revving his engine while filming a scene.
“Idk [I don’t know] I guess he thought it was funny to humiliate me in front of the entire crew,” she wrote on X. “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.”
“I had to beg. Alone. In his trailer. 🤦 Since the movie could not be finished without him,” Thorne alleged. “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,” she added. “Mickey should’ve never put anybody in that movie in any of those positions that he did.”
Rourke is currently facing the possibility of being the first contestant to be evicted from the CBB UK house this season, after JoJo Siwa was given a special power to choose one housemate to automatically face the public vote.
Usually, a set number of contestants is placed up for the possibility of eviction after receiving the most votes from their fellow housemates.
Siwa, 21, said Rourke made her “killer nomination choice pretty easy,” having made homophobic comments to her earlier.
During the episode on Wednesday, April 9, Rourke began quizzing Siwa about her sexuality, and she explained that she was a lesbian with a non-binary partner.
“If I stay longer than four days, you won’t be gay anymore,” Rourke said, with Siwa replying, “I can guarantee I’ll still be gay and I’ll still be in a very happy relationship.”
The Wrestler actor went on to say that he would “tie” Siwa up before fellow housemates Chris Hughes and Ella Rae began talking to him about his career.
When the conversation switched to how the voting process works, Rourke said, “I’m going to vote the lesbian out real quick.”
“That’s homophobic, if that was your reasoning,” Siwa replied.
Hughes, 32, told Rourke he couldn’t speak about Siwa in that way as he attempted to defend the dancer. Rourke then yelled, “I need a f–, not talking to you,” pointing at Siwa.
When Hughes told him again “You can’t say that,” Rourke claimed he was talking about a cigarette, referring to the British slang use of the word.
Rourke was called into the diary room where he was issued a formal warning for using language that was “offensive and unacceptable.”
“Further language or behavior of this nature could lead to you being removed from the Big Brother house,” the Sin City actor was told.
Siwa, meanwhile, was left in tears, and Rourke later apologized and gifted her a scarf made by his fashion designer.
Siwa’s partner Kath Ebbs described Rourke’s comments as being “rooted in misogyny” in a post on their Instagram Stories, per U.K. outlet The Independent.
Ebbs, 27, complained that Rourke’s comment about tying Siwa up was a supposed “rape joke,” and that he wanted to get rid of her after she shut him down.
They said, “He deemed her unf—able in that moment and then went if the male gaze is not a part of this situation and I have no power over you sexually … then he’s like ‘Oh, well then, I’m going to bully you … If you are not going to play into my creepy jokes then okay, I’m going to bully you, and I don’t want you here,’ and then he proceeds to call her a f–.”
Ebbs added that they would be “genuinely be so disappointed if the public doesn’t vote Mickey out,” according to The Independent.
The controversy came just days after Rourke was called out for behaving inappropriately toward host AJ Odudu while entering the house. Co-host Will Best said, “Careful, Mickey,” after the actor had “grabbed” and “ogled” Odudu, 37.