How ‘Big Brother’ Addressed Luke Valentine’s Removal from the House for Using N-Word

On Thursday night's episode of Big Brother, viewers saw the fate of Luke Valentine as he was removed from the house for saying the N-word. Around 10 minutes into the live episode, host Julie Chen Moonves addressed the audience, saying, "It was 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."

The episode then showed the exact moment when Valentine uttered the slur, in conversation with fellow houseguests Cory Wurtenberger, Hisam Goueli and Jared Fields.

Fields then told the cameras in a confessional, "My non-reaction in the moment, being the only Black male in this house, I don't know what to say. Anything I say or do can come off aggressive."

Valentine then joked to Fields that he was trying to say, "Narwal," to which Fields said, "I don't give a f---." In a subsequent conversation with Fields — which was previously reported after being captured by fans on TikTok — Fields joked that, "I should have made you uncomfortable real quick, like, 'Whoa, bro, what'd you just say?'"

"They just don't know how to handle that, which is so funny to me," Fields added. "In situations that should be uncomfortable for a Black man, white people get more uncomfortable." Valentine then admitted that, "Well, I'm in trouble now."

Viewers then saw Valentine being called to the Diary Room the next morning, where he was presumably told of his removal off-camera. Cameras next showed contestant Reilly Smedley calling the houseguests to the living room, where she read off a card, "Houseguests, due to violating the Big Brother Code of Conduct by using a racial slur, Luke has been removed from the house and will no longer be participating in the Big Brother game. The game goes on, and the live vote and eviction will go on as scheduled."

Wurtenberger revealed to the group what happened, telling them the word was directed in a very "casual, between friends kind of way."

"I walked out like, 'Did I just hear that?'" he recalled.

Fields then said he preferred to not have this as a "family convo," telling the cameras, "I've had friends like Luke in the past. It's really weird to try to have that conversation. That's why I didn't tell anybody. I don't associate ignorance with malice. Whether Luke meant it in that way or not, it was rules and regulations and we were told them clearly before walking into this house. I completely understand the decision."

"It's hard to help people understand where you're coming from, especially being the only Black man in this house," he added in the confessional. "With that being said, Luke, I wish you the best, bro. I just really do hope it was a learning situation for you."

On Wednesday, after fans learned of the situation thanks to the show's live feeds, Big Brother producers and CBS released a statement to The Messenger reading, "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."

This isn't the first time Big Brother contestants have been in hot water over racist comments caught on-camera.

In 2018, contestant Kaitlyn Herman sang the N-word while quoting a Drake song; during that same season, Angela Rummans and Rachel Swindler compared their tan skin to that of Black contestant Bayleigh Dayton. Just last year, Season 24 winner Taylor Hale experienced microaggressions and bullying, and houseguest Kyle Carpenter was evicted from the house after making racial-fueled comments.

In 2020, after accusations flew on social media that houseguest Memphis Garrett used the N-word, CBS released a statement that read, in part, "hate speech will not be tolerated, and those who violate the policy will be removed from the Big Brother house." (An internal investigation later revealed that Garrett had not said the slur.)

Big Brother airs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 8/7c on CBS.