Big Brother 25 contestant Luke Valentine was disfellowshipped after using the N-word on the show’s 24-hour live feed
Big Brother 25 Contestant Luke Valentine was banned from the US edition of the reality show after he was caught using a racial slur on the show’s 24-hour live stream.
30-year-old illustrator Valentine, who is white, dropped the N-word during a conversation with her fellow contestants Jared Fields, Cory Wurtenberger and Hisam Goueli Tuesday night (Aug. 8).
“We were in the fucking cheese room, n****,” Valentine is heard saying, before catching himself and saying, “I’m sorry.”
“Luke violated that Big Brother There is no code of conduct and there is zero tolerance for the use of racial slurs in the house. He was removed from the home,” CBS said in a statement The Independent On Wednesday. “His exit will be discussed on Thursday night’s show.”
The reality show was immediately met with backlash after a recent clip was shared on social media.
“The production should remove Luke. Set an example. Show current and future gamers that such language will not be tolerated,” Andy Herren, who won the US show’s season 15, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“The production loves to cover up racism, homophobia and transphobia when straight white males are involved. I hope they actually do the right thing and address Luke’s comment. The way it came out of his mouth so casually is really disturbing.”
It’s not Valentine Big Brotheris the first problematic candidate. Season 22’s Memphis Garrett was accused of using the N-word to refer to fellow guest David Alexander.
After an online petition called for Garrett to be removed from the show, CBS launched an investigation. However, after reviewing the footage, the broadcaster confirmed that it had not used the racial slur.
Just last season, Kyle Carpenter was evicted from the house for making derogatory remarks about the breed. A backlash also erupted after “microaggressions” were directed at black contestant Taylor Hale.
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Host Julie Chen later addressed the controversy, saying that with the live broadcast, it’s easy to catch someone “committing” these microaggressions that most people aren’t even “aware” of.
While the show’s casting process remains largely confidential, producers have said they conduct “extensive” research on each contestant to ensure there are no red flags.
In the run-up to the current season, executive producer Rich Meehan responded to speculation that they had cast controversial houseguests for entertainment purposes.
“That’s definitely 1,000 percent wrong,” he said Diversity. “But we span a broad network of people from different walks of life and with different upbringings, so that sometimes you are surprised along the way.”
Meanwhile, producer Allison Grodner added, “It’s a social experiment with a group of people with different life experiences.” They all bring that to the table and learn from each other. They learn, they change, they grow. Hopefully, by observing this, we will also leave a positive impact on the outside world.”