A "Big Brother" houseguest was removed from the house for saying the N-word this week. However, he's deemed not a racist by his family because of his ties to Black family members, TMZ reported.
Luke Valentine was evicted from the "Big Brother" house earlier this week for violating the show's "code of conduct," host Julie Chen Moonves said during a Thursday evening broadcast of the reality television show before showing the exact moment Valentine used the racial epithet.
Valentine's father told TMZ that he was surprised and disappointed in his son's behavior because Valentine has many family members who are Black, including his stepmother, siblings and biracial cousins. His father said Luke is not a racist and was not raised in a racist family.
Valentine used the slur while the show's live feeds were running and in front of three other cast mates, one of whom was Black. The group of contestants seemed to be appalled at his usage of the slur.
After the incident, two of the houseguests walked out of the room but the Black contestant Jared Fields stayed and joked with Valentine. Field told the cameras: "My reaction in the moment, being the only Black male in this house, I don't know what to say. Anything I do or say can come off aggressive." He later told Valentine, "That should've made you feel uncomfortable. Like, whoa, bro, what'd you just say?"
CBS and the show's producers said, "There is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur."
