Big Brother’s Julie Chen Moonves Explains Why She Changed Her Name: It ‘Became a Moment’
usmagazine.comThe meaning behind the moniker. Julie Chen Moonves tied the knot with her husband, Leslie Moonves, in 2004, but she didn’t start using his last name until 2018 — and she just explained why.“When I married my husband, I chose not to take the name because I thought it could be seen as an unfair advantage,” the Big Brother host, 52, told Deadline in an interview published on Wednesday, July 6. “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.”Moonves, 72, was the chairman and CEO of CBS from 2003 until September 2018, when he resigned following multiple allegations of sexual harassment, which the former exec denied.
Prior to becoming CEO, he had worked at the network since 1995.After the Bucknell University alum’s resignation, Chen Moonves surprised viewers by using her married name to sign off from a September 2018 episode of Big Brother.
The former Talk cohost had previously used her maiden name since the reality show premiered in 2000.“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,” the New York City native explained on Wednesday. “And it was a sign of support for my husband.
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