Julie Chen Moones Reveals She Was Almost Fired From Big Brother

It is almost hard to imagine Big Brother without host Julie Chen Moonves. But she revealed that she was almost fired from the CBS competition show.

Chen Moonves has been the host of Big Brother since Season 1. She is seen mostly on the premiere and finale episodes, as well as the live evictions each week.

In line with the Season 28 theme of “Time Trip,” the host is going back in time to recount when she was almost let go from the show. Chen Moonves talked to People about how critics “panned” Season 1, and they did not think Big Brother would make it past that. It was revamped for Season 2 and is now set to reach its 1,000th episode this season, but she was afraid for her job back then.

Chen Moonves told the outlet that there were talks to pull the CBS staple from the air mid-season. “We went from almost canceled to me almost fired to the 1,000th episode,” she told People.“It’s life. This is why I thinkBig Brotheris so successful, because it’s like, life is unexpected.”

In 2000, the outlet did an interview with the host, who told them that network executives were not happy with her. They thought the then-news reporter was “too serious and not enough fun.”

“People from 60 Minutes were like, ‘They should fire her right away from news and just put a stamp on her and ship her out to the West Coast and be part of CBS Entertainment. She’s blurring the lines between news and entertainment.’ And now I’m like, ‘Expect the unexpected!’” Chen Moonves shared.

Now, of course, the host has found her footing and has become a staple of the hit summertime show. Her job became even more stable when she married the now ex-head of CBS, Les Moonves. However, he resigned in 2018 when 12 women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault.

Season 28 will premiere on July 9 with a 90-minute episode for the “biggest season ever.” It will have the most programming hours the show has ever seen as well as celebrate the big milestone.

The house photos and theme were revealed on July 1, but the houseguests typically won’t be revealed until the week of the premiere. “For Season 28, we’re throwing out all of the rules of time and space and sending our houseguests on a journey unlike anything you’ve ever seen before,” Chen Moonves said in a promo video.

“From prehistoric times to iconic decades and unforgettable moments fromBig Brother history, this house is packed with surprises around every single corner,” she said.

After the 90-minute premiere and Sunday episode, the Thursday and Sunday shows will go back to one hour episodes. Wednesdays will be supersized and 90 minutes all season long.