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 blames lack of sleep and malnutrition for his use of the N-word on the show’s live feed — which led to him being booted out of the house.

The Florida illustrator, 30, caused 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.

While he has not apologized, during an Instagram Live on Wednesday, Valentine expressed “regret” for what happened, while also suggesting that “a slap on the wrist” would have been punishment enough.

“If you watch the clip, it’s pretty obvious I had no malice. It’s pretty clear I had no malicious intent. It was aimed 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 a cigar during the chat – claimed he was “probably getting two and a half hours of sleep” a night and it was beginning to affect him mentally.

“You don’t really factor in the psychological stress of being under studio lights 24/7 and not knowing who your friends are or who your enemies are,” he explained.

Valentine said he was under “intense psychological and physical coercion” and “just kept my mouth shut” on camera with no regard for consequences.

‘What happened, happened. Do I regret it? Of course, but I feel like it happened for a reason,” he added.

While Valentine said he “feels sorry for those who took offense,” he also seemed to struggle with the level of outrage he’s received.

“I’m sure if they just went sailing with it and just said, ‘Oh, yeah, he made a mistake and he immediately apologized to Jared,’ people probably wouldn’t care,” he said on camera .

Valentine is “not mad at the production” for taking 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’s disturbing. I think they made the wrong decision. I think a slap on the wrist would have been much better because they still get kickbacks,” he explained.

“The same people who canceled on me are trying to cancel (Jared Fields) because of the way he looked at Cory and his unique outfit. So, (the backlash) is not going to stop.”

Valentine shared more comments about the now-viral incident on his Instagram story earlier this week. He informed his fans that he is fine, but made no apologies for his language.

“Hey guys, I just want to let you guys know, I’m alive, I’ve arrived and you guys need to fan the flames until next time,” the shirtless former contestant said to the camera as he walked through a wooded area.

Valentine – who was broadcasting from Havana and smoking a cigar during the chat – claimed he was “probably getting two and a half hours of sleep” a night and it was beginning to affect him mentally

While he has not apologized, during an Instagram Live on Wednesday, Valentine expressed “regret” for what happened, while also suggesting that “a slap on the wrist” would have been punishment enough

“We can’t burn out, no, no, no, the fire of love will keep burning, baby,” he said.

“So thanks for all the memes, thanks 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 off a shirtless photo of himself from the show looking down at 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 attempt to justify his use of the N word.

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

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

Valentine, who is white, 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 quickly tried to recover by using the word “dude.”

He later told the Connecticut exterminator that the moment had been “a little slip of the tongue.”

Fields replied, “I don’t care. Yeah, right, I should have made you feel uncomfortable real quick, like, “Whoa, bro, what did you just say?”

Live feed: Valentine could be 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 that his time on the reality show was limited after his controversial statement. “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 informed his fans that he is fine, but made no apologies for his language

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

“Luke has violated Big Brother’s code of conduct and there is no tolerance in the house for the use of racial slurs. He has been evicted,” a CBS statement read after the impeachment.

Host Julie Chen spoke about the issue in the second part of Thursday night’s show.

“It was an emotional 24 hours in the Big Brother house when the house guests learned that one of them had broken the Big Brother code of conduct and was removed from the game,” she told the audience.

Valentine seemed to realize that his time on the reality show was limited after his controversial statement.

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

Valentine’s father defended his son by telling TMZ that he was not a racist despite letting the abusive word slip during the live feed.

The eldest Valentine is married to a black woman and claims that his son is close to his stepmother.