'Big Brother's Luke Valentine breaks silence on his racial slur removal, says CBS "made the wrong decision"

Big Brother 25 alum Luke Valentine has broken his silence about his removal from the Big Brother game for using a racial slur -- and he's certainly not holding back his true feelings!


Luke, 30, took to Instagram on Wednesday, August 16 with a lengthy livestream session that he captioned, "Here to answer your questions!"

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Luke, who was shown being expelled from Big Brother during its August 10 episode for casually dropping the N-word in conversation with his fellow houseguests, kicked off his video by smoking a "fine" cigar.

"People are acting like I killed someone, and that's just the disturbing nature of what goes on nowadays," Luke told his listeners.


He went on to vent, "I think [CBS and producers] made the wrong decision. I think a slap on the wrist would have been a much better thing because they're still getting backlash. The same people who canceled me are now trying to cancel Jared for how he looked at [Cory Wurtenberger] and his unique outfits. It's not going to stop!"

The illustrator from Florida, wearing a bright orange shirt with palm trees all over it, claimed he was filming this video in Havana, Cuba, where he's now washing dishes for a living.

"I'm making more money [at this Cuban resort] than I did as an artist in America, believe it or not," Luke quipped.

In between answering questions about Big Brother's houseguests -- including his thoughts on who should win Season 25 and whether he was shocked to learn Cirie Fields and Jared Fields are related -- Luke dove into his Big Brother controversy.

"I'm not upset at the production. Their hands were tied. They had to make a sacrifice," Luke said, one week after his removal from the Big Brother game made nationwide headlines.


But he acknowledged of executives' decision, "I understand why. It is upsetting."

Luke was kicked out of the Big Brother house because during a conversation with Cory, Jared and Hisam Goueli, Luke shouted, "We're in the f-cking cheese room, (N-word)!"

Luke quickly tried to correct his last word to "dude," and a censored version of the footage aired during Big Brother's August 10 episode.

"They just wrapped me up and threw me in a room, and I sat in there for seven hours," Luke recalled of his unexpected departure.

"I spoke to HR and then they shipped me back home, and it was genuinely -- it was devastating. It was very, very upsetting. It was very sad... Apparently I'm radioactive."


But Luke said he believes "it's pretty clear" that he "meant no malice" and had "no ill intent" in using the racial slur, which he claimed was "directed at Cory," who is not Black.

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Luke also pointed out how the N-word is not a part of his normal vocabulary.

"I was just running my mouth a little too hard," Luke said with a laugh.

"It rolled off my tongue so easily, but so did other things... like lying about being a doctor and lying about being a lawyer. When I get into a groove, I can't help myself."


Luke told his listeners and followers that he wasn't in a good mindset at the time because he was in "physical duress" when he dropped the racially-charged language.

"It was after about a week of malnutrition [and] a week of sleep deprivation. I was getting probably two-and-a half hours of sleep on that cheese block," Luke said, referring to the Have Nots' room.

"And you don't really take into account the psychological distress of being under studio lighting 24/7 and not knowing who your friends and who your enemies are. So, you know, what happened."

Luke, however, said he "felt bad about" his racial slur "the moment it happened."

When asked if he regrets it, Luke replied, "Of course I regret using the word -- it got me booted off the show!"


He elaborated, "Obviously I regret making that slip-up. And I do feel bad for the people who took offense to it because when you watch the video, I'm sure most people [don't think it's a big deal]... Now, there's an uproar over it."

Luke also reminded viewers how he "immediately apologized" to Jared, who is a Black houseguest, and he "never thought anything was going to come of" his mistake.

Later in the video, Luke made an allegation about Kirsten Elwin, who was the first houseguests evicted from the Big Brother house (after Luke was removed). He claimed she had made the same racial slur but only he was booted out of the Big Brother house.

Luke therefore accused Big Brother's code of conduct as being "inconsistent."

When looking back on the scandal, Luke said it "shocked" him when people on Twitter "actively campaigned" to remove him from Big Brother.

"Why do you want to ruin the show for yourself? What are you doing?" Luke proudly asked, adding how he had "the most fun" he's ever had in his life on the CBS reality competition.


"I'm not saying I was carrying the show, [but you're] making it less interesting... You can't give those people what they want. They made an example out of me. I was a sacrifice, and it's a shame!"

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When a listener told Luke it seemed like he didn't care about the offensive situation at all, Luke replied, "I care pretty deeply."

Luke explained, "It was shocking news. I slept like a baby that night [before my removal]. I had beautiful dreams of being on the show. And then I woke up and they hit me with it."

Luke said it was "funny" because they called him into the "Diary Room," which they hadn't done in a while, and so he didn't know what was going on.

"I said, 'It's so weird. It's like getting called to the principal's office, I feel like I'm in trouble.' And little did I know I was in the most trouble possible," Luke shared.


Since his departure, Luke said a few houseguests have reached out to him to show their support.

"So that is always uplifting, and even if you have to do it in private. I'm understanding," Luke revealed.

Luke said he doesn't think he's going to be able to attend the Big Brother finale and that the ship has probably sailed on being able to compete on Survivor in the future.

While Luke complained about how he doesn't like how strict the show has become -- and how that's probably going to take away from organic conversation on the show -- he pointed out how his controversy is "blowing over pretty fast."

Luke said with optimism, "I'm getting far less descriptions of medieval tortures that people want me to go through. I'm getting far less hate comments and a lot more support, thankfully. I think ultimately, it's dying down. As much as I loved everyone and I still do, they kind of have to hate me."

In addition to posting the video, Luke also wrote on Instagram Stories how he's ignoring "the creeps and weirdos" in his comments.


Luke subsequently asked of the people reading his content, "Pls stop w the long ass essays nobody wants to read. Keep it brief and to the point."

Luke posted a list of "Dos and Don'ts" for comments on his page.

An example of a "do," in Luke's opinion, was when a critic wrote to him, "Literal a!ds."

And a "don't," according to Luke, was a critic writing, "The utter lack of remorse or comprehension of what you did wrong speaks volumes. This is a piss poor apology. Thank god you were sent packing and pray to any higher power that will listen. No one ever hears about you or your mediocre art again."

Another person called Luke "virtue-less," among other insults, as part of his or her long rant.

Luke then penned via Instagram Stories, "Controversy got boring real fast. Everybody go home now. Nothing left to see. Back to your regularly scheduled programming of SPLATTERBRAIN."


Luke's expulsion from Big Brother marks the first time a houseguest was physically removed from the game for using a racial slur.

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One day before Big Brother addressed Luke's exit, CBS released the following statement to Us Weekly: "Luke violated the Big Brother code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur."

Big Brother is heading into its next live eviction Thursday night on CBS, and both Reilly Smedly and Cameron Hardin are both on the chopping block under Hisam's Head of Household reign.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski