Big Brother 25 contestant Luke Valentine broke his silence after producers expelled him from the house for using a racial slur.
“Hey, guys. Just letting you know, I’m alive, I’ve arrived and you gotta keep the flames stoked until next time,” Luke said in an Instagram Story video on Sunday, August 13. “We can’t burn out, no, no, no — the fires of love will continue to burn, baby.”
Luke was removed from the Big Brother house on Wednesday, August 9, after he used the N-word during a conversation with fellow houseguests Cory Wurtenberger, Hisam Goueli and Jared Fields that was captured on the live feed.
“We’re in the f–king G’s room, n–ga!” he said in the clip, after which he covered his mouth with his hand and tried to correct himself by saying “dude.”
(L-R) Red Utley, Hisam Goueli, Cory Wurtenberger, Matt Klotz, Jag Bains, Cameron Harding, Jared Fields and Luke ValentineLuke’s word choice shocked Cory and Hisam, who reacted with surprised stares. Luke then apologized to the group and directly to Jared, who is Black. “It wasn’t what you thought I was [going to say],” Luke told Jared. “I was gonna call him a narwhale [sic].”
Jared, meanwhile, told Luke he didn’t care about his use of the word. Later on in the live feed, Jared joked that he should have mocked his castmates’ strong reaction to the word. “I should have made you feel uncomfortable real quick, like, ‘Whoa, bro. What you just say?’” Jared quipped. “I don’t give a f–k.”
While Jared may not have been bothered by the word, many viewers were — and so were producers, who took quick action to remove Luke from the house. Shortly after the incident aired on the live feed, CBS announced that he was expelled from the game.
“Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur,” the network and producers told Us Weekly in a statement on Wednesday. “He has been removed from the house. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
During the Thursday, August 10, episode, host Julie Chen Moonves addressed Luke’s absence right away. “It has been an emotional 24 hours in the Big Brother house as the houseguests learned that one of their own broke the Big Brother code of conduct and was removed from the game,” Julie, 53, explained before footage showed the conversation from the live feed.
Later, Head of Household Reilly Smedley shared a message from production to her fellow houseguests. “Due to violating the Big Brother code of conduct by using a racial slur, Luke has been removed from the house,” she read aloud. “The game goes on and the live vote will continue as scheduled.”
The message shocked several houseguests, some of whom were seemingly unaware of what had taken place between Luke, Jared and the others. Cory recounted the details of the interaction for his housemates, but Hisam claimed he didn’t hear what Luke said — even though he looked surprised in the live feed when the moment first happened.
Jared, for his part, said in a confessional he hoped the whole situation was a “learning experience” for Luke.
Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
