(Photo: Splash News Online)

Mickey Rourke is reportedly telling people that fellow actor Sean Penn is “average” and “homophobic.”

According to the Daily Beast, the comments were expressed in a text message that Rourke sent to a Hollywood executive.

“Look, Sean’s an old friend of mine and I didn’t buy his performance at all – thought he did an average pretend acting like he was gay besides he’s one of the most homophobic people I kno [sic].”

Rourke was also reportedly heard backstage after an interview with David Letterman suggesting that Penn — who won an Oscar for Mystic River — is not even guaranteed to get a nomination this year.

However, Rourke’s publicist has denied all of these rumors, saying:

“There is no Oscar feud between Mickey and Sean. They have known each other and been friends for a very long time. Mickey attended the New York premiere of Milk to support Sean and only has the greatest respect for him.”