When Mickey Rourke first announced plans on Sunday to participate in the upcoming WrestleMania 25, some worried that it might hurt his Oscar chances — including his publicist, evidently! A spokesperson for Rourke released a carefully worded denial to Defamer last night:
“Mickey was very honored to be asked as he has the greatest respect for WWE however he will not be participating in Wrestle-Mania. He is focusing entirely on his acting career.â€
One can only imagine the tearful conversation between star and flack that followed this heartbreaking announcement (“But Sean Penn’s publicist would let him do WrestleMania!â€). Even so, professional wrestling’s biggest night isn’t until April, so Rourke could still change his mind after the Oscars. And look at the clever way his publicist misspells “Wrestle-Mania†(there’s not really a hyphen!) — this reeks of non-denial denial. If we were Jericho, we’d definitely watch our ass.
Defamer Exclusive: Mickey Rourke Tags Out Of ‘Wrestlemania’ [Defamer]