AJ Odudu has responded to Mickey Rourke’s questionable behaviour towards her during the Celebrity Big Brother launch on Monday night. During the live launch of the show which saw a string of famous faces swap their lavish lifestyles for up to three weeks inside England’s most famous house, the Hollywood star certainly left a lasting impression on viewers – and not for the right reasons.
Just moments into Mickey, who is known for his roles in the likes of 9 1/2 Weeks, Barfly and Year of the Dragon, appearing on screens, many viewers expressed they were uncomfortable due to his “inappropriate” behaviour towards host AJ.
After Mickey, 72, was introduced to the studio crowd and viewers at home, he continued to gaze at AJ, looking her up and pouting down before grabbing onto her. “I’m gonna stay with you,” he said.
AJ responded: “Stop looking at me.” In another twist, after he prolonged his entrance to the house, hosts AJ and Will Best attempted to speed things up by pushing Mickey into the house – but he decided to grab AJ and attempted to take her in with him.
But during the launch episode of Late and Live, AJ made her feelings about the incident very clear. Comedian Alan Carr commented: “Can we talk about Mickey Rourke looking at you – wow.” “His eyes!” AJ replied.
Alan attempted to make light of the uncomfortable situation, adding: “Find someone who looks at you like Mickey Rourke looks at you, his tongue was hanging out.” A defiant AJ said: “It was! You can’t afford these feathers, Mickey,” as she referenced her show stopping outfit.
The uncomfortable scenes certainly sparked a reaction on social media with many being left in complete disbelief. One viewer penned on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Well… Mickey’s just landed himself some Ofcom complaints. #cbbuk.” A second added: “I feel bad for AJ with the way Mickey Rourke kept pulling out her.”
“I put money on Mickey Rourke getting kicked out within the next few days. How he treated AJ was totally unacceptable,” commented a third. Meanwhile, over on AJ’s Instagram page, the star was flooded with support after she shared a snap of herself and co-star Will posing during the launch.
“You look incredible AJ! I’m so sorry Mickey disrespected you like that, you handled it incredibly well, I hope you’re okay,” commented one. A second added: “I hope he’s removed off the show. Disgraceful.”
Another typed: “I can’t deal with what Mickey Rourke did to you. It was wildly inappropriate and he should be removed for being a hideous old letch. It was written all over your face how uncomfortable that made you feel. You handled it so well.”
Meanwhile, before going into the house, Mickey, who claims to have never seen the show said he had “no expectations” and was just going to do his “thing”. But he says some housemates may get on his nerves if they’re not respectful. “I do not like people who are disrespectful. Respect is earned. I will earn it. If they don’t, they will know about it,” he said.
When asked about his strengths and if he’ll be easy to live with, the actor said: “Just be respectful and that’s it. I’ll just do me. I don’t care about winning. It doesn’t mean anything to me. I want someone to win who really cares about winning and who earns it.”
Big Brother returns tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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