Fans of CBS’ “Big Brother” were in for a huge surprise on Thursday night when the wife of former CBS chairman Les Moonves signaled her support for her disgraced husband.
Julie Chen, wife of Moonves and host of “Big Brother” for the past 19 seasons, has never once in the history of the reality competition closed the show using her full married name, Julie Chen Moonves.
In a clear sign that she plans to stand by her husband — who has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women — Chen used her full married name for the first time since joining the show in 2000.
Chen was all smiles as she opened the show on Thursday, and did not mention her absence from “The Talk” or her husband’s sudden resignation from the network.
However, as she was closing out the show, Chen signaled to fans that she plans to stand by her husband’s side during this major scandal. “From outside the ‘Big Brother’ house… I’m Julie Chen Moonves. Good night,” she said.
https://twitter.com/Adoomies1/status/1040423224562135046
Fans of the show — that is know for backstabbing moments — reacted to her outrageous sign-off, writing that they were “blindsided.”
“I’m Julie Chen-Moonves.”
She really is proud to be married to a sexual abuser.Julie girl, you are officially cancelled.
#bb20 pic.twitter.com/oOQaHO25ey
— Helena Rodriguez 🏳️🌈 (@shutuphele) September 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/amdeeeeeee/status/1040421107596181506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1040421107596181506%7Ctwgr%5E373939313b73706563696669635f73706f7274735f616374696f6e&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftoofab.com%2F2018%2F09%2F14%2Ftwitter-slams-julie-chens-support-of-husband-les-moonves-during-big-brother-sign-off%2F
https://twitter.com/christacharm/status/1040616809798557696
Some Twitter users even suggested that her shocking move would lead to her eviction from the show —
Huge triple eviction night on Big Brother! 2 houseguests go and then Julie Chen-Moonves finishes it off by self-evicting! #BB20 pic.twitter.com/OovpCYIf92
— FrodoTL (@FrodoTL) September 14, 2018
After that ending, I doubt CBS puts Julie Chen-Moonves back on the air ever again #BB20
— The BryPie (@TheBryPie) September 14, 2018
The future of Chen’s career is uncertain after many fans have speculated that she made a career-ending move on Thursday night.
Many critics have suggested that Chen’s intentions were to intended to discredit the woman who have come forward to accuse her husband of sexual assault and misconduct.
The CBS star said so much by saying so little.
–Kylie Handler is a news editor for The Horn News