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The Big Brother Season 25 contestants remaining in the house following the eviction of Luke Valentine for the use of a racial slur are now grappling with his removal. Earlier this week, during a non-televised Paramount+ live stream, the 30-year-old casually slipped the N-word into his conversation with three other housemates. During Thursday night’s episode, Valentine was called into the diary room after the conversation, and the next morning the other contestants learned of his eviction.
“It was directed toward me in a very casual, using it between friends kind of way, and I think the reaction was, ‘Yo, you gotta go to bed man,’” Cory Wurtenberger told the other housemates of the incident. “I walked out like, ‘Did I just hear that?’” He was part of the conversation with Valentine, as were Hisam Goueli and Jared Fields, whose involvement was complicated by him being the only Black male in the house.
Wurtenberger and Goueli almost immediately exited the room after Valentine attempted to correct and cover himself with the word “dude.” While they were debriefing during the latest episode, Goueli claimed he hadn’t heard the slur in the first place. In the initial aftermath, Fields laughed it off with Valentine, joking that he should have made him feel uncomfortable but added that he doesn’t “give a fuck.” Fields told his other housemates: “Listen, I respect exactly what you’re saying Cory, but considering what the situation was, it’s not fair, I think, to try to have this as a family convo.”
In a private confessional, he explained: “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.” During their conversation together, Valentine referred to his use of N-word as a “little slip of the tongue.”
The message read to the contestants about Valentine’s removal stated: “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 continue as scheduled.”
Fields continued: “I completely understand the decision, and I also understand there are consequences to every action you make. It’s just hard trying to help people understand where you’re coming from, especially being the only Black male in this house. With that being said, Luke, I hope you the best bro, and I really hope it was a learning situation for you.”
