Julie Chen Missed 'Big Brother's Eviction Episode Because She Had COVID

Like many of CBS's longest-running reality TV shows, Big Brother has had a single host for much of its run. Julie Chen Moonves has always been around to steer the ship but had to miss a September 2024 eviction episode of the show. Jerry O'Connell stepped in to fulfill the hosting duties for that episode.

Following Julie's absence from the show, many want to know what happened to her, and when she might be back on the show. Here's what we know about why she wasn't on the program in the first place.

Julie announced on Sept. 12 that she would not be appearing on the eviction episode because she had been diagnosed with COVID-19. “Thankfully this is only the second time for me and it’s been very mild,” she wrote. “No fever and just a sore throat.”

Julie explained that she woke up on Sept. 6 with a sore throat and found out later that day that she had COVID.

She also added that she was still testing positive, even though she was starting to feel better. "Despite feeling good, strong and my cough being gone, I must sit tonight’s Big Brother live eviction show out,” she added. She then thanked Jerry for stepping in for her and joked that she hoped he fit into her dress. She also said she hopes he "has a ball and tells the houseguests I miss them but will be watching from home.”

After Julie made the announcement on her own social media, Jerry weighed in in a short video from the Big Brother Instagram account to confirm that he would be subbing in.

“Jerry O’Connell here. I’m one of the hosts of The Talk,” he said. “Tonight, I’m going to be the substitute teacher for Big Brother. Julie Chen Moonves is a little under the weather, we love her.”

As we enter flu season, Julie Chen Moonves is far from the only person dealing with the reality of COVID-19. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the virus's level of activity remains "very high." This data is based on testing of wastewater, which may mean the results are lagging somewhat from the actual reality on the ground.

As is the case with viruses like the flu, COVID-19 is just a fact of life around the world now, and individuals and countries are going to have to do what they can to mitigate the risk. We saw something similar during the Olympics when Noah Lyles came down with the disease and decided to continue racing even as he tried to mitigate the risk to those around him.

Now, it seems COVID-19 has come for Big Brother, and because no one wants to watch a version of the show where everyone is sick, Julie decided to try to keep the illness from spreading.