Now that Mickey Rourke is anticipating his comeback, he’s ready to give interviews to magazines and make a complete fool of himself. Rourke has never been one to keep his opinions to himself, and in the new issue of GQ the conversation turns to politics. Hollywood is infamously liberal and Rourke is a conservative, so it would easy for the media to jump on him for his views. But it is not his political leanings that make the interview interesting. Instead, it’s the fact that he doesn’t want anyone with differing views to be allowed to speak out. First, Rourke defends President Bush and rebukes the public for blaming the president for the current world situation, especially in regards to the reaction to the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.
“President Bush was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I don’t know how anyone could have handled this situation.
“I don’t give a f**k who’s in office, Bush or whoever, there is no simple solution to this problem… I’m not one of those who blames Bush for everything. This s**t between Christians and Muslims goes back to the Crusades, doesn’t it.
“It’s too easy to blame everything on one guy. These are unpredictable, dangerous times, and I don’t think that anyone really knows quite what to do.”
Rourke also confesses he was so angry after 9/11, he wanted to fight the war on terror himself.
He adds, “I’m not politically educated. But I do know that after 9/11 I wanted to go over there, you know what I’m saying?”
[from Contact Music]
Then he accuses (liberal) actors of being too loose-lipped when it comes to politics.
“Actors should shut up about politics, because they tend to be ill-informed finger-pointers who just cozy up to some flavor-of-the-month liberal, you know?”
[from Pop Crunch]
Finally, he accuses the British government for upholding the freedom of speech:
He explains, “I was in London recently and I couldn’t believe all these hate-talking fanatics you have over here who are allowed to carry on doing their thing even when a bus full of women and children gets blown to pieces.”
[from Contact Music]
Just to be clear: Mickey Rourke thinks actors shouldn’t talk about politics, and that freedom of speech is overrated, unless you’re a conservative or, more importantly, Mickey Rourke. After all, his home country (the US) does have freedom of speech, meaning that he is entitled to any and all of his opinions.
And although some of his views may have merit, what bothers me about this is that he doesn’t think that everyone should have the same rights. That’s not the kind of attitude that will solve any world problems or ensure his comeback among Hollywood elite.
This also isn’t the first time he’s been in the news recently for not keeping his mouth shut. Maybe he should take his own advice.
Mickey Rourke is shown in the press room after the Golden Globes. Credit: Fame
That’s cause he’s making signs in his garage right now: PRUNEFACE FOR PRESIDENT.
Thinks the Salvadore Dali look disguises the creepiness. Doesn’t.
No fan of Rourke by a long shot, but liberals have been trying desperately to trample the free speech rights of conservatives for quite a long time now, but that doesn’t seem to be shocking to anyone. Why are you shocked when a conservative says the same thing, only about liberals?
Why is it that only the liberals are allowed to have a voice? HUMMMMM
Whenever a conservative speaks out they are bashed. But liberals have pretty much free reign.
He can do no wrong in my book.
He is a great actor and one of the few guys out there that doesn’t have an inch of fake in him.
@Ned, “…doesn’t have an inch of fake in him.”
That’s rich, he is all plastic surgery and botox, which you repeatedly trash Angelina for. Ah, the hypocrisy.
The inch you refer to must be the length of his manhood due to his steroid usage.
One thing that occurred to me after reading this is that he really seemed to have a friendship or at least an admiration for Bruce Springsteen. I got that impression at the Globes from his acceptance speech. Rourke is also said to be good friends with Sean Penn despite all the trash-talking. He doesn’t seem to let politics get in the way of his friendships.
LOL daisy!
I don’t live in the States but the President Show *rolled into town* all over the globe, so I don’t feel “uninformed” about the whole presidential race.
I cannot for the life of me understand where any American gets the idea that one group or the other has been deprived of its freedom of speech.
Hogwash. You really don’t know what it’s like living in a country where people don’t have rights.
Is that a fake mustache?
I don’t mind so much what he says, after all, it’s certainly entertaining, but I do wish he’d get a shower and a shave. He’s starting to look extremely creepy, and IMHO he loses credibility for that.
His face looks like it’s been through a wood chipper. That being said, I’ll be first in line to see “The Wrestler” once it finally finds its way to the sticks.
Just saw The Wrestler last night. Rourke was born to play this role. He’s awesome. It’s by far the most subtle Aronofsky film. I’m still replaying moments from it in my mind and marveling at the little details. Anyhow….Anyone who thinks conservatives have a lessened voice in this country must not ever turn on a radio or a television. Jeez.
YAWN!
I’m a liberal, a fan of Mickey Rourke’s acting (not his behavoir), and I don’t see what the problem is. I don’t see him defending Bush, but saying we can’t blame everything on him. And while we can blame him for a lot, we can’t for everything.
Also, actors should shut the hell up. Who cares what Sean Penn or Matt Damon think, even if they’re on “my side.” To be fair, he was answering a pointed question, not spouting his views in a press release like a lot of Hollywood liberals.
That said, can’t wait to see The Wrestler.
“President Bush was in the wrong place at the wrong time”
I agree with Mr. Rourke here. The “wrong place” was the Office of the President of the United States, and the “wrong time” is, well, the last eight years.
daisy424,
His face looks like that cuase he got tired of acting and decided to do some boxing. But his pretty boy face was quickly turned into mashed potatoes. Broke alot of bones there. Reconstructive surgery was neccessary.
This is such a liberal site that I take everything they say about politics and such with a grain of salt. I would read the original article just to see how out of context this is, but i’m too tired as I’ve been working all day with the poster children of a liberal’s generous heart.
Daisy, he is genuine and real. He is not calculating and manipulative.
He is not fake and pretentious. He is humble.
Those are things Angelina Jolie will probably can’t even discern, and that’s without even getting to her plastic surgeries and Botox.
As for his face- they guy was a boxer. Educate yourself about what happens to their faces.
He didn’t have plastic surgery because he lies about his age or because he is obsessed with how he looks.
Mickey is awesome and can say whatever the hell he wants.
He gave the best performance in a film this year.
I think Mickey seems like he’s been humbled. You can tell he loves his dogs and appreciates another chance. He mentioned tonight on Jay Leno that his dog (which has passed away) is the only reason he’s still here on earth. He’s honest…unlike Kate Winslett’s and others speaches at the Golden Globes. Acting out a speach is so crappy and tacky. Winslett(sp?) was totally sickening and fake. Politics…really, who can blame all the problems on the president. If he were the only culprit, he’d have been impeached. We all remember congress, intelligence and others played a role. 9/11 happened…I remember it well. Like Mickey, I wanted to do something. Homeland Security seems to be working…there’s been no more attacks! I do think Obama is what we need (especially socially) but I know all our problems can’t be blamed on Bush. I can see what Mickey is saying…and I’m totally liberal too. “If I Can Dream” Obama Inauguration!
what he said is absolutely right
war between muslims and christen goes 1000yrs back. Then all christians were oneside now all r one side if their homes are attacked else thats dirty politics!!
@Ned, “He is not calculating and manipulative. He is not fake and pretentious” That comment is your perception & opinion unless you know him personally.
As for the plastic surgery, this is from the LA Times;
Over the past decade, it looks as if Rourke has had several surgeries, some to repair boxing damage, some to repair the repairs, and some possibly purely cosmetic. The results are far from natural. He’s quoted on Salon.com admitting, ‘I went to a certain kind of doctor. I believed it would make things different.’
Check out these photos for the change;
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1052748/Pictured-Mickey-Rourkes-horrifying-face-years-plastic-surgery.html
IMO at the very least he has had cheek implants, eye lift, botox. Reconstruction is one thing, vanity – another ball of wax.
My comment to you Ned was your criticism of AJ about plastic surgery. Your “doesn’t have an inch of fake in him” comment is still hypocrisy.
Oh but when the rest of Hollywood goes on and on and on and on and on about their political views you write no articles about how it is wrong. I am not a huge fan of his but living in Cali for the last 4 years I have come ro realize that they have a complete elitist attitude and just assumes the rest of the country should always follow their lead.
Sat something controversial- extend your moment in the spotlight. Mickey has been making a lot of press with his movies and I’m sure he’s clever enough to still play the fame game and extend it. He’s been out of work for a long long time, and he doesn’t want to miss this chance.
(Yet another thread where AJ gets shoe-horned into the mess for no GD reason. You haters are psychotic or have long-standing untreated OCD. Consider therapy.)
I guess I’m a moderately socially liberal in a sense that I defend human rights and have always taken a profound interest in it.
However, I’m not very involved in politics outside of the social aspects of it.
I personally find it pretentious when anyone crams politics down everyone’s throats. I think what I dislike most about politics is that both sides of the spectrum focus more on the negatives on the opposite side than the positives on their own. I witness a lot of shit stirring and drama from celebrities about their political beliefs and while to an extent it’s necessary to speak out against a policy if you disagree with it that you should also at least try to respect the people who think differently.
When someone’s on their high horse, no-one wants to listen to you. I think that liberal celebrities generally annoy conservative ones because right now it seems as though the conservatives are being outnumbered by the left.
Finally, I’m not saying that Obama’s going to be a lousy president (I hope he’s successful), but a lot of this celebrity campaigning for him was ridiculous. “Vote for Obama because Scarlett Johannsen will” is not the right message to send out to voters, especially when we spent the last eight years with George W. Bush who really screwed America. I think a more resourceful campaign would’ve gotten more people to take Obama seriously.
I’ve loved Mickey since “9 1/2 Weeks” was released. He was ruggedly handsome and sexy! What a hot turn on he was. Then he got that reconstruction that went all wrong and it made a mess out of him. I’m thrilled that he’s made a comeback and even though his looks are altered, he could still be sexy if only he would get a decent haircut and trim that unkempt facial hair; stop wearing those shawls with every outfit he owns; wearing those mismatched belts; and those damn rope necklaces!!! Mickey…catch a clue…get yourself a fashion advisor to dress you and fix you up. You could still be HOT! On top of it, your voice has been and still is so damn sexy and a real turn on so now just fix yourself up in those other areas and you’ll have it made in the shade bucko!
As for everybody blogging about Mickey’s view on politics….let it be! We’re all entitled to a view point and no matter what stance we happen to take in life, no one can please all of the people all of the time. Same goes for presidents! Some mess up but they stil all try their damndest to do what they think is best for the country. There has been no USA President that was loved by everyone in the country and that pleased the public 100% with all of their political actions! Stop griping so much America and check out your own garden before you complain about your neighbors garden!!!!
He did an excellent job in “The Wrestler.” I enjoyed the film; thought it was good, though not great. To me taht doesn’t give his political views any particular weight, but if he wants to spout off, who cares?