Big Brother USA housemate Luke Valentine "removed" for using racial slur
Big Brother USA season 25 spoilers follow.
Big Brother USA housemate Luke Valentine has been "removed" from the Big Brother House over the use of a racial slur.
Only a few days after the new season kicked off, fans caught Luke using the N-word during the daily Big Brother live feeds offered for fans on Paramount+ in the US.
A spokesperson for CBS has told Digital Spy: "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."
Related: Big Brother US host Julie Chen Moonves teases quitting show
The incident occurred during a discussion between Valentine and fellow housemates Jared Fields, Cory Wurtenberger and Hisam Goueli, in which Valentine was heard casually using the slur.
Valentine appeared to recognise what he'd done immediately and suggested he should have used the word "dude" instead.
A clip of the offending moment has since gone viral on Tik Tok, and CBS received pressure from fans to take action against the housemate.
Among those campaigning for Valentine to be removed was Andy Herren, who won Big Brother USA season 15. On Wednesday (August 9), Herren tweeted: "Production should remove Luke. Set an example. Show current and future players that language like that will not be tolerated."
Unfortunately, this is far from the first time Big Brother USA has been embroiled in a racism controversy. Just last season, fans and several former Big Brother housemates were critical of the treatment of eventual winner Taylor Hale inside the house.
Former housemates, and many fans, accused some of Taylor's housemates of subjecting her to microaggressions throughout the season — including one housemate trying to form an all-white alliance.
Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves subsequently spoke out on E!'s Daily Pop to affirm that "microaggressions are real and they happen".
Big Brother USA airs on Sundays and Wednesdays on CBS at 8pm, as well as on Thursdays at 9pm.
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