Hot topics! On Friday, September 14, The View hosts discussed the fact that Julie Chen signed off of Big Brother on Thursday night by adding her married last name – the first time she’s ever done that on the show, which debuted in 2000. Chen announcing, “I’m Julie Chen Moonves,” is the first statement the host has made since her husband, Les Moonves, was fired from CBS following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Chen has been absent on The Talk since the news broke on Sunday, September 9, and her cohosts ignored her Big Brother statement during their broadcast on Friday. However, The View did not take the same approach.
“She’s never signed off on The Talk or on Big Brother using Moonves as her last name. I think it was a message saying, ‘I believe in my husband,’ much like the message that she put out on Twitter,” Sunny Hostin said on the show, referencing the statement Chen made in July, following the first New Yorker report, in which six women made accusations about her husband. “I think she’s letting us know she’s still here.”
Joy Behar then mentioned that it will be tough for Chen to return to The Talk since the talk show tackles so many serious topics. “They can’t talk about the #MeToo movement without her coming clean about her husband,” she said. “They can’t talk about anything relating to relationships unless Julie Chen Moonves comes clean.”
“Hillary Clinton stood by Bill Clinton after that Monica Lewinsky thing — people attacked her for that,” Joy Behar added. “They would have attacked her if she left. It’s a no-win situation for the wives.”
Following his firing from CBS, the former CBS CEO again denied all allegations made against him. “Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am … I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company. I wish nothing but the best for the organization, the newly comprised board of directors and all of its employees,” he said in a statement.
