Perhaps the COVID-19 quarantine is starting to get to Mickey Rourke. One might use this time to reflect and better themselves to make 2021 a better year while others will stew on issues from the past. Rourke is choosing to go the latter route by reigniting a 30-year-old feud with Robert De Niro and I must say I'm absolutely here for this,
Rourke posted a picture of De Niro on Instagram and wrote the following angry caption to accompany the photo. The Instagram post can be found after the quote from the caption:
"Hey Robert De Niro, that's right I am talking to you, you big f*cking crybaby. A friend of mine just recently told me that a few months back you're quoted as saying to newspapers "Mickey Rourke's a liar he talks all kind of s*it." Listen Mr. Tough Guy in the movies, you're the 1st person that ever called me a liar and it was in a newspaper. Let me tell you something, you punk ass, when I see you I swear to God on my grandmother, on my brother and all my dogs, I'm gonna embarrass you severely 100%. Mickey Rourke "as God is my witness."
You know it's serious if Rourke swears on his dogs that retribution will be swift! The bad blood between the two actors goes back all the way to 1987 when the two were filming ANGEL HEART together. According to Rourke, De Niro had a condition that Rourke should not touch him or talk to him while filming. Decades later, Rourke believes the same initial dislike on De Niro's part continues because it may have prevented Rourke from getting a part in THE IRISHMAN. The most recent public disagreement between the two occurred when Rourke stated during an interview that Martin Scorsese wanted to meet him to discuss a role in THE IRISHMAN but De Niro put a hard stop on that idea because he refused to work with Rourke. In response to Rourke's claim, representatives of De Niro issued a statement saying Rourke was "never asked to be in The Irishman nor was he ever even though of, discussed or considered to be in the movie."
De Niro has yet to respond to Rourke's Instagram dig and at 76-years-old, perhaps he should just let this one slide. That being said, if a verbal brawl goes down on Zoom someone please let me know because I'll be there with popcorn in hand!