Luke Valentine, a Big Brother housemate, claims he uttered a racist slur on the programme due to “malnutrition” and “sleep deprivation.”
The 30-year-old illustrator was fired from the hit reality show’s US edition last week after using the N-word during a live stream with co-stars Jared Fields, Cory Wurtenberger, and Hisam Goueli.
‘We were in the f**king [inaudible] room, n****r,’ he said, before appearing to backtrack and replace the term with ‘dude’.
He was then summoned to a different room and taken from the house, and he has finally spoken up about the event.
During an Instagram Live Q&A, he assured his fans that he isn’t ‘upset with the production’ for firing him.
‘Their hands were tied. They had to make a sacrifice, I understand why,’ he said. ‘It is upsetting. I think they made the wrong decision. I think a slap on the wrist would have been a much better thing.’
He insisted he had ‘no malice’ when using the word, adding that people need to understand the ‘psychological distress’ of being on the Paramount+ show.
He said: ‘I had no ill intent. It was directed at Cory, and it was after about a week of malnutrition, a week of sleep deprivation, I was getting probably two-and-a half hours of sleep on that cheese block…
‘And you don’t really take into account the psychological distress of being under studio lighting for 24/7 and not knowing who your friends and who your enemies are.
‘So what happened happened. Do I regret it? Obviously. But I feel like it happened for a reason.’
In the comments, fans have criticised his answer, with some rejecting his notion that hunger and weariness may be to fault.
‘You do realise hundreds of individuals have spent more days in the home than you and none of them have shouted a racist slur?’ said one fan.
‘You get hungry and starting calling people n*s? Lmao pls take us seriously 😂 (sic),’ replied a second person, while a third added: ‘Lack of sleep makes you casually say racial slurs? really? that’s your best excuse?’
And someone else commented: ‘Malnutrition has nothing to do with racial derogatory terms… It’s giving my bad, I messed up but that’s not an apology at all.’
Source My Celebrity Life.
