‘Big Brother 25’ Contestant Removed After Saying Racial Slur Mid-Conversation on Live Feeds

Big Brother contestant Luke Valentine has been removed from the house just three days after Season 25’s premiere. The 30-year-old Weston, Florida native sparked calls for his removal after saying the N-word in a conversation with fellow contestants Jared Fields, Cory Wurtenberger and Hisam Goueli that was captured on the live feeds.

“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,” CBS told Variety in a statement. “His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.” Valentine’s use of the slur came at the end of a casual statement, at which point he covered his mouth, laughed, and attempted to correct himself using the word “dude” instead.

Fans and former Big Brother players called for Valentine’s immediate removal. “Production should remove Luke. Set an example. Show current and future players that language like that will not be tolerated,” tweeted Big Brother Season 15 winner Andy Herren Wednesday. “Production loves hiding racism and homophobia and transphobia when straight white men are involved. Hoping they actually do the right thing and address Luke’s comment. The way it so casually came out of his mouth is really upsetting.”

Big Brother has had numerous racial scandals in the past, including in Season 22, when an investigation was conducted after houseguest Memphis Garrett was accused of calling David Alexander the N-word. After reviewing the footage, CBS determined he had not said the slur, and Garrett was allowed to continue on in the game.

In Season 24, houseguest Kyle Capener made comments about race that ultimately led to his eviction, but not before he discussed the moment with fellow contestants Taylor Hale and Monte Taylor, who are Black. “It hurt, man, a lot, to hear that you … cause I would have accepted anything, bro. If you wanted to work with anyone but me, I would have been fine with that,” Taylor told Capener. “But for it to be attached to my race, that’s the part that I have to, like, um … I don’t care about Twitter, or America, or whatever, it’s my little brother. I really got to figure out how to explain, like, man this is just a unique situation.”