Big Brother contestant Luke Valentine blames his ‘lack of sleep and malnutrition’ for blurting out the N-word on show’s live feed… which led to him being expelled from the house

Big Brother contestant Luke Valentine is blaming lack of sleep and malnutrition for his use of the N-word on the show’s live feed — which resulted in him being booted from the house.

The illustrator from Florida, 30, sparked outrage last week when he blurted out the racial slur during a conversation with African-American contestant Jared Fields, along with Hisam Goueli and Cory Wurtrnberger.

He said to the trio: ‘We were in the cheese room, n *****!’ before covering his mouth with his hand.

Though he’s failed to apologize, Valentine did express ‘regret’ over what happened during an Instagram Live on Wednesday while also suggesting that ‘a slap on the wrist’ would’ve been sufficient punishment.

‘If you watch the clip, it’s pretty clear that I had no malice. It’s pretty clear that I had no ill intent. It was directed at Cory and it was after about eight hours… about a week of malnutrition, a week of sleep deprivation,’ he told viewers.

Valentine — who was broadcasting from Havana and smoking on a cigar throughout the chat — claimed that he ‘was getting probably two-and-a-half hours of sleep’ a night and that it began to affect him mentally.

‘You don’t really take into account the psychological distress of being under studio lighting 24/7 and not knowing who your friends are or who your enemies are,’ he explained.

Valentine said that he was under ‘intense psychological and physical duress’ and was ‘just running my mouth’ on camera without any regard for the consequences.

‘What happened happened. Do I regret it? Obviously but I feel like it happened for a reason,’ he added.

Though Valentine said he ‘[feels] bad for the people who took offense,’ he also seemed to take issue with the level of outrage he’s received.

‘I’m sure that if they’d just gone sailing with it and just said, “Oh, yeah he slipped up and he immediately apologized to Jared,” people would probably not care,’ he said into the camera. 

Valentine is ‘not upset at the production’ for booting him off the show but he doesn’t think it was the best move.

‘Their hands were tied and they had to make a sacrifice. It is upsetting. I think they made the wrong decision. I think a slap on the wrist would’ve been a much better thing because they’re still getting backlash,’ he explained.

‘The same people who canceled me are trying to cancel [Jared Fields] for the way he looked at Cory and his unique outfit. So, [the backlash] is not gonna stop.’

Valentine shared more comments about the now-viral incident on his Instagram Story earlier this week. He let his fans know he is okay, but did not offer an apology for his language.

‘Hey guys, just letting you know, I’m alive, I’ve arrived, and you gotta keep the flames stoked until next time,’ the shirtless former contestant said into the camera while walking in a wooded area.

Valentine — who was broadcasting from Havana and smoking on a cigar throughout the chat — claimed that he ‘was getting probably two-and-a-half hours of sleep’ a night and that it began to affect him mentally

Though he’s failed to apologize, Valentine did express ‘regret’ over what happened during an Instagram Live on Wednesday while also suggesting that ‘a slap on the wrist’ would’ve been sufficient punishment

‘We can’t burn out, no, no, no, the fires of love will continue to burn, baby,’ he said.

‘So thank you for all the memes, thank you for all the support, all the kind words,’ he concluded.

The unrepentant Valentine shared one of the memes he received in his Instagram stories, showing a shirtless photo of himself from the show looking down on a still of Ryan Gosling from Blade Runner 2049.

He also shared a short clip from The Reality Kingdom podcast in which hosts Pharoah and Lee, who are both African-American quoted what he said, in what appeared to be an effort to justify his use of the N-word.

The pair stated they were happy with his expulsion, but were unhappy that Kirsten Elwin had been evicted.

Valentine was removed from the Big Brother house after he was caught using the N-word on the show’s live feed Wednesday morning August 9 – to the shock and disgust of his fellow contestants.

Valentine, who is Caucasian was heard telling African-American contestant Jared Fields, along with Hisam Goueli and Cory Wurtrnberger: ‘We were in the cheese room, n *****!’ before covering his mouth with his hand.

Valentine tried to quickly recover using the word, ‘dude.’

He later told the exterminator from Connecticut the moment had been ‘a little slip of the tongue.’

Fields replied, ‘I don’t give a f**k. Yeah, right, I should’ve made you feel uncomfortable real quick, like, ‘Whoa, bro, what you just say?”

Live feed:  Valentine was heard on a live feed saying  ‘We were in the f****** cheese room, n****’  to African-American contestant Jared Fields (seen left) Hisam Goueli and Cory Wurtrnberger, ‘ before correcting himself and saying ‘dude’

Trouble: Valentine seemed to realize his time on the reality show was limited after making his controversial utterance. ‘Well, I’m in trouble now,’ he told Fields, ‘I’ve been in worse trouble’

Valentine shared more comments about the now-viral incident on his Instagram Story earlier this week. He let his fans know he is okay, but did not offer an apology for his language 

Outraged fans who saw the interaction began to call for Valentine’s removal on social media.

‘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,’ a statement from CBS read following the ouster.

Host Julie Chen addressed the issue in the second segment of Thursday night’s show.

‘It has been an emotional 24 hours in the Big Brother house as the houseguests learned that one of their own broke the Big Brother code of conduct and was removed from the game,’ she told the audience.

Valentine seemed to realize his time on the reality show was limited after making his controversial utterance.

‘Well, I’m in trouble now,’ he told Fields, ‘I’ve been in worse trouble.

Valentine’s father defended his son, telling TMZ he was not racist, in spite of letting the offending word slip during the live feed.

The elder Valentine is married to a Black woman and maintained his son has a good relationship with his step-mother.