There will be a noticeable absence on the Thursday, September 12 episode of Big Brother.
For the first time in 24 years, beloved host Julie Chen Moonves is missing the live eviction episode of the hit CBS series. Instead, Jerry O'Connell will be stepping in to have the farewell discussion with either Kimo or Quinn, the houseguests up for elimination.
Chen, 54, took to Instagram earlier on Thursday to shed some light on the surprising absence. "Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and went to see my good friend who is an ENT. That night, he called to say I have Covid," she explained in the statement.
"Thankfully, this is only the second time for me, and it's been very mild! No fever and just a sore throat. Unfortunately, I am still testing positive as of this morning... Despite feeling good, strong and my couch being gone, I must sit tonight's Big Brother live eviction show out," Chen continued.
She shared her thanks to O'Connell for stepping in for her, while also showing that Covid or not, she still has her sense of humor. "I hope Jerry fits into my dress, has a ball, and tells the houseguests I miss them, but will be watching from home. See? Chenbot is human after all!" Chen joked, before adding her signoff, "Love one another and enjoy tonight's show. 🤖💙"
Fans flooded the comments sharing their well-wishes for Chen, as well as their shock, with one writing, "Wow. Has julie ever missed a live show. I can't think of one." Another fan poked fun at the AI theme of this season, posting, "An AI version of you would of been perfect to fill in."
A third quoted the infamous Big Brother tagline, writing, "Expect the unexpected right? See you next week Julie 🌹."
O'Connell also took to Instagram to let fans know he would be stepping in as "the substitute teacher for Big Brother." He shared his love for Chen, as well as his excitement that she would be calling in to Thursday's episode of The Talk.
Chen has hosted Big Brother since it first began in 2000, later admitting she was "forced" to take on the role. At the time, she was also working as a morning news reader on CBS' New York-filmed The Early Show — meaning she had to fly back and forth from her main job in New York to film The Early Show to Los Angeles on Thursday evenings to film Big Brother evictions.
However, she pushed through, and now admits she's so glad she did. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly ahead of season 25 in 2023, Chen said, "I never want it to end."
When asked how much longer she wants to act as host, she answered, "I think you know when it's time to go, whether as a show or me as a host, and I just don't see signs of that right now. But you just never know."
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