Julie Chen Expected to Host 'Big Brother' After Moonves's Ouster
*By Max Godnick*
The Les Moonves era is over at CBS. Well ー sort of.
The now-former chief's wife Julie Chen remains the host of both network series "Big Brother" and "The Talk." So even after his resignation as CEO on Sunday, Les Moonves still has a presence at CBS, if only in a spousal sense.
While Chen skipped Monday's season nine premiere of "The Talk" to "be with my family," the veteran newswoman will resume her hosting duties on CBS's long-running "Big Brother" on Thursday evening.
"She's really involved in a lot of the shows on CBS," associate editor of Vulture Jackson McHenry said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "She's a recognizable face."
Chen, who married Moonves in 2004, has hosted "Big Brother" since its U.S. debut in 2000; she is longest-tenured host of any of the show's global versions. She has moderated and co-hosted "The Talk" since its premiere in 2010 and helped the show eclipse its rival, ABC's "The View," in the ratings. Before launching the program, Chen anchored and co-hosted the "CBS Morning News," and "CBS This Morning," and "The Early Show."
During Monday's premiere of "The Talk," Chen's co-hosts did address the news of Moonves's departure. Sharon Osbourne said on-air of her former boss: "Obviously the man has a problem." Sheryl Underwood and Sara Gilbert offered their encouragement to Chen during the program, but also urged viewers to take the matter seriously and support Moonves's accusers.
"It feels like they are kind of hedging about how much Julie might know or where her position may fall," McHenry said of Chen's co-hosts.
Did Chen know about her husband's transgressions? McHenry said it's unclear.
"It's very hard to believe that someone as intimately connected both with Les Moonves and with CBS as a company wouldn't hear about this," he said.
Since news broke in July that Moonves and CBS faced sexual harassment and intimidation [allegations](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/06/les-moonves-and-cbs-face-allegations-of-sexual-misconduct) from six women, Chen has only issued one brief [statement](https://twitter.com/JulieChen/status/1022968567728427012) about the claims against her husband. She said she supports his statement that he never abused his position to "harm or hinder anyone's career."
The New Yorker on Sunday published a follow-up piece detailing the accusations of another six victims. Hours later, CBS announced Moonves would exit the company. The matter of his severance is still unresolved, but he stands to make up to $120 million, pending results of an investigation.
As the entertainment community adjusts to handling prominent men accused in the #MeToo era, it must also grapple with the fate of their wives. Chen draws close parallels to Georgina Chapman, Harvey Weinstein's estranged wife and the co-founder of high-end fashion label Marchesa. Much like Chen, Chapman's success has been closely tied to her ex-husband. Marchesa established itself as a red carpet mainstay, frequently worn by actresses closely linked to Weinstein and his projects.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/with-les-moonves-out-what-happens-to-julie-chen-at-cbs).
John Bencich, CEO of Achieve Life Sciences, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
