For the first time in 26 seasons, Julie Chen Moonves won’t be overseeing a Big Brother live eviction.
The TV personality, who has been hosting the reality show since its 2000 debut, announced on social media that she’ll be sitting out Thursday’s live episode after testing positive for Covid-19.
Last Friday, the morning after hosting the episode that saw Joseph Rodriguez sent home in a blindside, “I woke up with a sore throat and went to see my good friend who is an ENT,” Chen Moonves wrote in an Instagram caption today. “That night he called to say I have COVID. Thankfully, this is only the second time for me and it’s been very mild. No fever and just a sore throat.”
She continued, “Unfortunately, I am still testing positive as of this morning. Despite feeling good, strong and my cough being gone, I must sit tonight’s Big Brother live eviction show out.”
Chen Moonves then revealed that a replacement has been lined up: The evicted houseguest will be greeted by fellow CBS host Jerry O’Connell.
“Thank you to Jerry O’Connell for filling in for me,” she wrote. “I hope Jerry fits into my dress, has a ball and tells the houseguests I miss them but will be watching from home.”
She signed off by writing, “See? Chenbot is human after all! Love one another and enjoy tonight’s show.”
Over on his own Instagram page, O’Connell posted a video of himself holding up the script for the eviction episode.
“I’m one of the hosts of The Talk, but tonight I’m going to be the substitute teacher for Big Brother,” he told viewers. He then teased Chen Moonves’ participation on today’s episode of The Talk, which marked her first return since abruptly exiting the show in 2018, in the wake of numerous sexual assault allegations against her husband, former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves. (He has denied the claims.)
Chen Moonves called in to the show to offer O’Connell some very important advice about taking over her Big Brother role.
“I know you’re a movie star, you’re a game show host, you’re a talk show host, you’re a husband, you’re a father to two beautiful girls, but I’ve got to give you a very important tip for tonight,” Chen Moonves began, after reminding O’Connell that the eviction will determine the first member of the season 26 jury. “When you got into my dressing room, go into the bathroom, on the second drawer to the left, there is a corset. I’m telling you, Jerry, there is no way you’re going to fit into my dress tonight without the corset.”
As O’Connell’s cohosts erupted with laughter, Chen Moonves informed him that getting the corset on would be a three-person job. “But once they tie it on, that zipper will zip like buttah,” she concluded.