Tony Rock is ripping the white "Big Brother" houseguest who casually used the n-word in conversation ... setting the record straight on who can and can't use the racial slur.
We got the veteran comedian at LAX on Thursday and our photog asked him about Luke Valentine getting booted from 'BB' for dropping an n-bomb on the live feed.
Tony says no one named Luke Valentine should ever say the n-word ... and his rule of thumb is to refrain from using the slur unless you are a person of color.
Chris Rock's brother also finds it interesting Luke was so quick to apologize ... he says that should be a sign Luke should have known better in the first place. He also feels it's a trend whenever people or companies offend Black people.
Tony's fascinated by the reaction from Luke's fellow white houseguests to having the n-word dropped into a conversation ... he says the virtue signaling is in full effect.
We covered the controversy on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.