Luke Valentine. {Photo Credit: Christian Alexander}
This story has been updated.
By Bryan Boggiano
Luke Valentine, the Coral Springs resident who joined the cast on the 25th season of “Big Brother,” has been removed from the show after saying a racial slur.
The incident started early Wednesday morning when Valentine had a conversation with fellow housemates Jared Fields, Corey Wurtenberger, and Hisam Goueli on a Paramount Plus live feed.
Valentine can be heard during the conversation saying, “We were in the f****** room, n****.”
Valentine is white, as are Wurtenberger and Goueli. Fields is black.
Wurtenberger and Goueli walked out of the room visibly disturbed, leaving Valentine with Fields. On the feed, Fields did not display any visible reaction at the time.
Valentine did try to apologize and say he meant to say “dude,” but the damage was done.
He received numerous calls to leave the Big Brother House, while others pressured CBS to expel Valentine for his use of the n-word. Others expressed concern over his nonchalant use of the word.
“Big Brother needs to expel Luke; it’s just how it is,” tweeted Season 21 Contestant Kat Dunn. “At this point, keeping him in the house would be a slap in the face to every person who has stood up for or tried to change the racist allegations that the show has experienced in the past.”
The show previously faced racism allegations in its 15th and 21st seasons.
In a statement, CBS said, “Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct, and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur. He has been removed from the house. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
On Thursday night’s episode, host Julie Chen Moonves said it was an emotional 24 hours in the house.
His father, James, spoke to TMZ, where he denounced his son’s use of the n-word but denied allegations of racism, stating Luke has a black stepmom, black step-siblings, and biracial cousins.
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