If Big Brother had a “Seasons Since Last Expulsion” counter, it would have gone from 11 to zero last week as Luke Valentine became the first houseguest in more than a decade to be ejected from the show.
Valentine lost his spot in the 25th season of the CBS reality show after using a racial slur inside the house. Before that scandal, Big Brother hadn’t sent a contestant home for bad behavior since 2012. Here’s a rundown of those disciplinary actions.
Justin Sebik (Season 2)
In what’s arguably Big Brother’s scariest moment yet, Sebik held a knife to the throat of fellow Season 2 houseguest Krista Stegall and asked her, “Would you get mad if I killed you?” The bartender from Bayonne, New Jersey, claimed he was joking, per The New York Times, but he was nevertheless tossed from the show.
The Times later reported that a Justin Sebik — who had the same Social Security number as the contestant on the show — had been arrested in Bayonne five times, twice for minor robberies and three times for simple assault. CBS, however, said its investigators had found no records of arrests for assault.
Stegall later sued CBS for allowing Sebik on the show, given his arrest record, according to The Guardian. (The result of that suit seems not to have been made public.)
Scott Weintraub (Season 4)
Weintraub made it just eight days in the Big Brother house before getting expelled. The Chicago waiter threw a tantrum and threw furniture around after coming face-to-face with his ex Amanda Craig as part of the show’s X-Factor twist, according to Entertainment Tonight.
He also blamed his behavior on his case of genital warts, the New York Post reported.
“I don’t want anyone to think that Scott is a bad guy, because he isn’t,” executive producer Arnold Shapiro said at the time, per the Post. “He just didn’t respond well to the Big Brother experience and displayed unacceptable behavior.”
Chima Simone (Season 11)
Simone, a freelance journalist from West Hollywood, California, was expelled from Season 11 because of “multiple rule violations,” according to executive producer Allison Grodner. Those violations included refusing to wear her microphone and tossing a microphone into a hot tub when one of the other houseguests retrieved it for her.
During her time in the house, Simone grew frustrated that her nominations were overthrown by the “coup d’etat” twist that also nominated her ally, Jessie Godderz, for eviction.
“If someone is throwing their microphone in a hot tub, they’re breaking down,” Lou Manza, professor of psychology at Lebanon Valley College, told CBS News at the time. “You’re removed from your social support, so there’s no way of coping. What else could happen later? Things could get much uglier much quicker if you don’t respond.”
Willie Hantz (Season 14)
Hantz, a tankerman from Dayton, Texas, got the boot from Big Brother’s 14th season after an altercation with fellow houseguest Joe Arvin. Hantz reportedly headbutted Arvin and verbally abused Janelle Pierzina, another Season 14 houseguest, according to Digital Spy.
Grodner announced Hantz’s ouster over the house’s PA system. “As you all know, violence is not tolerated in the Big Brother house, so Willie has been removed from the game,” the EP told the other houseguests.
Days later, Hantz was arrested for drunk driving in Lafayette City, Louisiana, as E! News reported at the time.
Luke Valentine (Season 25)
Valentine, an illustrator from Coral Springs, Florida, was given his walking papers in Season 25 after viewers saw the houseguest — a white man — drop the N-word on Big Brother’s live feeds.
In a statement, CBS said: “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. His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”
Fellow houseguest Jared Fields, a Black man who was present when Valentine said the slur, later discussed the situation with Season 25’s remaining contestants. “I don’t associate ignorance with malice. Whether Luke meant it in that way or not, it was rules and regulations, and we were told them clearly before walking into this house,” he said. “I completely understand the decision, and I also understand there’s consequences to every action you make.”
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