EXCLUSIVE: Mickey Rourke 'Cancer Fears' Erupt As Fans 'Wig Out' Over His 'Tragic New Look'
Mickey Rourke has triggered a wave of online concern after fans reacted to images of him showing off new looks.
Jan. 8 2026, Published 6:03 p.m. ET
Mickey Rourke has triggered a wave of online concern after fans reacted to images showing him bald and then, days later, clearly wearing a wig, sparking fears he could be hiding cancer.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Rourke, 73, was photographed on New Year's Day outside the Los Angeles home he is currently renting, where he is facing possible eviction over nearly $60,000 in alleged unpaid rent.
Bald Photos Spark Panic And Health Fears
Mickey Rourke alarmed fans after he appeared bald in new photos.
The actor was seen with a totally shaven and blotchy head, looking disheveled and unrecognizable to fans accustomed to his long hair, before reappearing days later with his obvious wig back on as he left the property and headed to a West Hollywood hotel.
A source close to the actor said the rapid change in appearance unsettled fans.
The insider added: "People saw Mickey bald and then suddenly with a full head of hair again and immediately jumped to the worst conclusions. There were fears he was hiding cancer or serious illness."
But the source added: "However, the truth is much simpler, Mickey is extremely vain about his hair loss and hates being seen without his wig.
"For want of a better phrase, this is just a case of his fans wigging out over what is a pretty tragic new look for Mickey, considering how he looked in his prime."
GoFundMe Drama And Rent Crisis Fuel Scrutiny
Rourke stepped outside his Los Angeles rental looking disheveled.
Rourke was later spotted wearing jeans, a blue shirt and his trademark cowboy hat as he left the house, which sits in the Beverly Grove neighborhood just south of West Hollywood.
His three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom rental, built in 1926, was once home to crime novelist Raymond Chandler.
The sightings came as Rourke broke his silence after a GoFundMe page appeared online seeking donations to help him cover a rent debt of $59,100.
In a video update for his fans, Rourke said: "Something's come up that I'm really frustrated, confused (about) and I don't understand. Somebody set up some kind of foundation or fund for me to donate money like charity, and that's not me.
"Okay. I'd rather, if I needed money, I wouldn't ask for no f------ charity. I'd rather stick a gun up my a-- and pull the trigger. So, whoever did this, I don't know why they did it. I don't understand it. I wouldn't know what a GoFundMe foundation is in a million years.
"My life is very simple, I don't go to outside sources like that, and, yeah, it is embarrassing, but I'm sure I'll get over it like everything else."
Actor Admits Financial Struggles And Legal Fight Ahead
An unauthorized GoFundMe campaign surfaced during the controversy.
Rourke also admitted he has suffered financial problems in recent years, blaming his troubles on a lack of acting work during the COVID pandemic and Hollywood strikes.
He added, "Listen, I've done a really terrible job in managing my career. I wasn't diplomatic. I had to go to over 20 years of therapy to get over the damage that was done to me years ago. I worked very hard to work through that. And I'm not that person anymore... I'm not that wild man that I was... but you pay the price for that."
He added the GoFundMe page called Support Mickey to Prevent Eviction is not authorized.
Rourke urged: "This thing is very embarrassing, and if you've given money... don't give any money, and if you gave money, get it back. Whether you gave cash or a check, or whoever you sent it to, and I'm going to talk to my lawyer... and get to the bottom of this."
'I’d Never Ask for a Nickel'
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He blamed financial strain on pandemic shutdowns and industry strikes.
"There's only one person I can think of that would do such a thing, and I hope that it's not the person I'm thinking about. It's humiliating," he continued.
"If I needed money, and I did borrow money from a really great friend of mine, eventually I'll say who it was, and he got me out of a jam, you know, COVID and the writers' strike killed my money."
Rourke added he has been going through hassles with his rental home in Los Angeles, but he's adamant he stopped paying rent because the landlords didn't fix problems with the house, and said the case is due to be fought out in court.
He explained: "I was in a really bad situation with the place I was renting. Everything was good for five or six years, and then two scumbags from New York bought the house, and they wouldn't fix anything, so I said, 'I'm not paying rent because there's mice, there's rats, the floor is rotten, one bathtub there's no water, in two different sinks there was no water.'"
"And this (GoFundMe) has all come at the same time. I don't know if those guys, those scumbags, are behind it... We are going to go to court, but I would never ask strangers or fans or anybody for a nickel. I mean, that's not my style."
Rourke added: "It's humiliating, and it's really f------ embarrassing... they said it's up to $100,000 and I wouldn't take a f------ nickel from charity, from anybody. So we'll get to the bottom of this and like all storms this way pass and I'll go back to work and things will go back to whatever normal is."
