Julie Chen has been a staple at CBS for years thanks to her roles on The Talk and Big Brother, and some fans may not have even been aware that she was married to CBS head honcho Les Moonves. Her marriage came to the forefront of conversations in the aftermath of Les Moonves' ousting following allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct at the network, and she did not appear on The Talk after the decision was made to let Moonves go, leading many to wonder if she would come back at all. Well, we have our answer. Julie Chen is stepping away from her role as co-host on The Talk.
Fans of Julie Chen as a Talk co-host won't even get her back for a final batch of episodes, as CNN reports that her departure will go into effect immediately without any more appearances in her role as a co-host. Instead of saying goodbye to viewers (and her fellow hosts) in front of the camera, she will reveal her decision to leave via video message on the September 18 episode of the CBS talk show. Her decision to leave The Talk is reportedly due to a desire to focus on her son and work to clear Les Moonves' name.
The support of Les Moonves from his wife doesn't come as a shock. The former CBS head has denied the allegations of assault, and Julie Chen has stood by him. In fact, she showed support for her husband on a recent live episode of Big Brother. Rather than signing off with her usual "I'm Julie Chen," she signed off with "I'm Julie Chen Moonves." The message was clear: Chen supported her husband and was not afraid to make that stance clear, even on live television.
Although CBS has not released an official statement about Julie Chen and The Talk at this point, she will reportedly remain on board at CBS as host of Big Brother, which will undoubtedly come as a relief to Big Brother fans. She was one of several hosts of The Talk; Big Brother wouldn't be able to just move on without Chen on board. The ousting of Les Moonves has already impacted the CBS programming in front of the camera.
The impact of Les Moonves' departure will undoubtedly continue to be felt, even after Julie Chen's departure from The Talk. A number of big names in showbiz felt compelled to speak out about him after the sexual misconduct allegations first broke, ranging from Stephen Colbert of CBS' The Late Show to sitcom success story Chuck Lorre. CBS could be quite different in the coming months and years. As of now, we can only be 100% positive that The Talk will look different without Julie Chen.
Julie Chen's video address to viewers will reportedly air in the next episode of The Talk, airing September 18 at 2 p.m. ET.
