Mickey Rourke Texts Himself Down Sh*t Creek

As the saying goes, "Everyone's a critic."

And that includes Mickey Rourke, who, according to TheDailyBeast, was talking smack about fellow actor Sean Penn, and his performance in Milk.

According to Gerald Posner, in a posting titled "Rourke Trashes Penn," Posner says that on Sunday, December 28, a "Los Angeles entertainment honcho shared a text message with me that Rourke had sent him."

Posner writes the text of the message as the following:

"Look seans an old friend of mine and i didnt buy his performance at all-thought he did an average pretend acting like he was gay besides hes one of the most homophobic people i kno" [sic]

Some have responded by alleging that the message was a fake, while others reportedly didn't disagree that Rourke *could* have written something like that, being known as a "brutally honest" guy who "will call a spade a spade," according to a "long time [sic] acquaintance" of Rourke's, according to Posner.

And even if Rourke did send the message . . . so what? It has been said that some of the wisest rulers surround themselves not with those who fawningly agree with them, but those who will tell the truth. Though reviews of Milk are generally positive now, some early reviews voiced concerns similar to Rourke's, calling Penn's performance good, but nothing earth-shattering.

Rourke and Penn are both seen as potential leaders for 2009 Best Actor Oscar nominations.