Since marrying Les Moonves, in 2004, Julie Chen had never professionally used his last name, Too Fab reports. That changed in September 2018, when Chen signed off the show Big Brother, with the name Julie Chen Moonves.
According to The New Yorker, Les Moonves stepped down from his position as CEO of CBS, one he had since 1995, earlier in September 2018 following multiple sexual misconduct allegations. In a July piece for The New Yorker, Ronan Farrow had accounts from six different women, who had alleged misconduct from Moonves.
Chen in response released a statement on Twitter defending her husband after the allegations.
“I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late ‘90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years,” Chen wrote in her statement posted to Twitter. “Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and more human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement.”
Since 2018, Chen has been using her husband’s last name, along with her own. At the time she was working for the daytime talk show, The Talk, as well as Big Brother.
Chen told Deadline in a July 6 article that she didn’t tell anyone on the show beforehand and surprised everyone.
“I made the change on the fly on a live show in the spur of the moment,” Chen said to Deadline. “I didn’t tell anybody. I was like toying with it, and I remember my heart racing while I thought, ‘Am I gonna do it?’ It just became a moment.”
Even her husband was surprised, Chen said.
“I think he was just like, ‘What happened?’” she said to Deadline. “When I married my husband, I chose not to take the name because I thought it could be seen as an unfair advantage. It was a powerful, popular name to have. And I had made my own career prior to knowing him. So I wanted to keep that. And then when his name was getting dragged through the mud, I thought this is the time to make my stand and to let the world know who I am. And it was a sign of support for my husband. I know him. And he is a good man.”
Episodes for Big Brother, will air on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET, and on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
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