Mickey Rourke blasted by gay rights activists over homophobic slur

Washington: American actor Mickey Rourke has been blasted by gay rights activists, after he made an attempt to defend his usage of a homophobic slur.Rourke, 57, who last year was caught on camera calling a journalist a f**got, was probed this week about his use of the term.

The Wrestler star had told TMZ.com it was merely an insult and not anti-gay, but campaigners at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation (GLAAD) disagree. “This is a slur that, regardless of what Mickey Rourke has convinced himself that it means, is often the last word that gay people, and gay youth in particular, hear before they’re bullied, harassed or assaulted,” Contactmusic quoted the campaigners as saying. “Rourke is showing himself to be painfully ignorant of how this vulgar, abusive slur feeds a climate of anti-gay hatred, intolerance and violence. “Rourke either needs to figure this out, or media needs to stop giving him a platform for promoting these kinds of slurs,” they added. ANI