Big Brother Recap: Here’s How the Show Addressed Luke Valentine’s Abrupt Exit
Big Brother went live for its first eviction of Season 25 on Thursday night… but someone had already been booted before the episode even began.
We’re talking, of course, about disgraced houseguest Luke Valentine, who was ejected from the game earlier this week after using the N-word in a conversation with three other houseguests. (Watch the alarming moment here.)
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“Luke violated the Big Brother code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur,” read a statement from CBS and Big Brother‘s producers on Wednesday, just hours after live feed footage of the conversation began to draw attention on social media. “He has been removed from the house. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
During the episode (full segment embedded above), CBS did air the incident in question, when Luke said to Cory, Hisam and Jared, “We were in the cheese room, [N-word]!” Some time after Luke uttered the epithet, he was called to the Diary Room, and that was the last we saw of him. Later, current Head of Household Reilly called her housemates to the living room, where she read a message from Big Brother that 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.”
During the house meeting, Cory attempted to provide context about the incident for those that weren’t present, but Jared countered that it was not a topic he wanted to open up to a group of 16 people.
Meanwhile, in the Diary Room, Jared explained the “non-reaction” he initially had when Luke said the slur. “Anything I say or do can come across wrong or aggressive” as the house’s only Black male contestant, he said, adding that he doesn’t “associate ignorance with malice” when it came to Luke’s intentions with that word.
“I completely understand the decision [to disqualify him],” Jared continued. “Luke, I really do hope it was a learning situation for you.”
Elsewhere in the episode — eviction spoilers ahead! — molecular biologist Kirsten Elwin became the summer’s first evictee, by a 13-0 vote. The Head of Household competition didn’t take place live this time, but when Julie Chen Moonves invited us to eavesdrop on the houseguests in the episode’s final minutes, we learned that the Scary-verse had opened a poorly CGI’d portal in the backyard, and all of the players had vanished from the house.
Press PLAY on the video above to watch Thursday’s Luke segment in full, then sound off below with your thoughts on the season’s first eviction episode.
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