Mickey Rourke criticised for 'gay slur'

Mickey Rourke has been criticised for defending his use of the word "f*ggot".

The actor was caught on camera last year using the term to describe a journalist, but recently told TMZ that it was just an insult and not homophobic.

However, Contactmusic reports that campaigners for the Gay And Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation have described Rourke as "painfully ignorant".

In a statement, they said: "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, harrassed or assaulted.

"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."