Luke Valentine — who sparked controversy on Big Brother earlier this season — is weighing in on his former houseguest Jared Fields using an ableist slur.
On Monday, September 4, Luke, 30, shared his latest artwork via Instagram. In the comments section, a fan asked what he thought about the Jared, 25, situation.
“Enforcement of the code of conduct seems rather selective, doesn’t it?” Luke replied to the user in a since-deleted comment.
During strategy talks on Friday, September 1, Jared — who is the current Head of Household — and his allies discussed how he wanted to target fellow houseguest America Lopez. While attempting to explain why America, 27, could not win the Power of Veto, Jared called her the R-word. Jared later spoke to Cory Wurtenburger — who is aligned and in a showmance with America — and expressed his regrets for using the ableist slur.
“I don’t think she’s the R-word. I slipped up,” Jared said on the live feeds on Saturday, September 2, per social media recordings. “Obviously, I was angry about it [and] I’m willing to admit that.”
When Jared dropped the offensive slur, many Big Brother fans implored CBS via social media to remove him from the game. Production has yet to address the controversy, despite having aired a new episode on Sunday, September 3, and it is unclear if Jared will face any consequences for his remarks.
Earlier this season, Luke was removed from the game after he was caught saying the N-word in conversation with Cory, 21, Jared and Hisam Goueli in August.
“Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur,” the network and producers told Us Weekly in a statement last month. “He has been removed from the house. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
Since returning home, Luke has spoken out about his dismissal from the game and how he was disappointed over the situation. “I’m not upset at the production. Their hands were tied. They had to make a sacrifice,” he said during an Instagram Live later that month. “I understand why. It is upsetting. I think they made the wrong decision. I think a slap on the wrist would have been a much better thing.”
Following Hisam’s own eviction, the geriatric doctor, 45, exclusively told Us that he was unaware of Luke’s offensive remark, despite being in the room when it happened.
“If I had heard the word, I would’ve responded. I am not complicit in racism, in any stretch of the imagination,” Hisam told Us. “I was just literally trying to get to the shower. I mean, honestly, I was holding the door for Cory so that we could go to the shower. And I was wondering what was taking so long, actually.”
