As captured on Big Brother's Live Feeds, Luke Valentine casually dropped a racial slur while talking within a racially diverse group before quickly trying to cover it up — it wasn't long after that he was removed from the game for violating its code of conduct.
Fans hadn’t heard from Big Brother 25 contestant Luke Valentine since his unceremonious boot from the house this past Wednesday after he casually dropped a racial slur while talking with a small group of racially diverse Houseguests. Until now, that is.
The disparaging wasn’t dropped as a targeted slur at someone, but casually as he told them, “I’m in the f–king cheese room, [n-word].” He quickly tried to replace the word with “dude.”
Jared Fields, the only Black male in the house, was in the room and after a pause told Valentine, “Yo, you’re off the f–king ledge.” He later explained he was shocked in the moment and uncertain how to respond for a myriad of reasons, as detailed here.
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Valentine was subsequently removed from the game, with then-Head of Household Reilly Smedley reading a message to the Houseguests that he’d been removed for using a racial slur. Cory Wurtenberger, who was also in the room alongside Hisam Goueli, attempted to explain what had happened.
Four days after his removal from the house, Valentine has broken his silence on the matter with a new video that danced around the subject of his removal from Big Brother, but offered no apologies.
Shared to his Instagram Stories on Sunday night, and again to his X (née Twitter) page Monday afternoon, Valentine appeared to be getting in an outdoor workout.
“Hey, guys. Just letting you know, I’m alive, I’ve arrived and you gotta keep the flames stoked until next time,” he told his followers. “We can’t burn out, no, no, no, the fires of love will continue to burn, baby.”
He concluded with a message of thanks “for all the memes,” “all the support, the kind words.” He also added, “Now we’re just waiting on Duke,” though it’s unclear what he’s referring to there.
Shortly after his removal, CBS released a statement confirming that Valentine had been ousted for violating the show’s code of conduct, “and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur.”
While Valentine himself has not specifically addressed his use of the n-word, or removal from the house, his father James told TMZ that his son is definitely not a racist, and even has Black family.
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According to James, Valentine has a Black stepmother and step-siblings. He also said that his stepmother was disappointed to hear Luke use the racial slur in the house, with James saying he’s never before heard him use that word.
He did add that Valentine was in the wrong here and should definitely be more mindful of what he says. Fields said much the same in a farewell message he recorded to Valentine. He also doesn’t believe his former Houseguest is racist, and hopes he uses this time to reflect and grow as a person.
The rest of the Houseguests continue their 100-day quest for $750,000 on Big Brother 25, airing Sundays and Wednesdays at 8pm ET, Thursdays at 9pm ET on CBS.
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