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With longtime CBS chairman Les Moonves out after numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and assault, all eyes (well, not all but plenty) have been on his wife Julie Chen and her future at the network. In addition to being Moonves’ wife, Chen also served as one of the co-hosts on the CBS daytime talk show The Talk and is the current host of the reality show Big Brother. Chen’s relationship with CBS goes even further back than her marriage to Moonves; she was the anchor of the CBS Morning News starting in 1999.
Of her current CBS shows, new reports indicate that one will continue on in light of her husband’s scandal. While Chen released a farewell message from The Talk yesterday, resigning from that show, she is expected to stay on as the host of Big Brother through this season and into the future, should the show get renewed.
Why is Chen leaving The Talk but staying with Big Brother? Apparently because both CBS and Julie Chen want it that way. Unnamed sources inside CBS have informed TMZ that the network doesn’t want to punish the host for Moonves’ alleged sexual assault, and that Chen wants to stay on as host. Sources told TMZ that Chen’s decision to leave The Talk was hers and hers alone; CBS didn’t force her out. The network’s apparently taking the same approach with Big Brother, seeing what Chen wants to do, and it looks like she wants to stay on. And since ratings are still solid for the long-running reality show, it’s almost guaranteed a renewal. That means Chen’s relationship with CBS will likely continue on after Moonves’ dismissal.
Her decision to stay with Big Brother over The Talk does make sense. Big Brother is way less of a time commitment and doesn’t get into topical news the way The Talk does. Oddly enough, it was Big Brother where Chen first addressed the allegations about her husband last week, proclaiming, “I am Julie Chen Moonves.”
The Big Brother Season 20 finale airs on CBS on September 26.
