Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves will be missing from the week 8 live eviction episode for the first time ever after testing positive for COVID-19. Big Brother 26 has reached its jury phase, so the houseguest who's evicted will be the first member of the jury. As of the September 11 episode, Head of Household (HOH) Chelsie Baham had nominated Angela Murray and Kimo Apaka for eviction. However, Makensy Manbeck won the Power of Veto, and she and Chelsie were considering using it to save Angela in order to nominate either Quinn Martin or Leah Peters for eviction.
"See? Chenbot is human after all!"
In an X post, Julie shared the news that she won't be appearing in the September 12 eviction episode. The Talk co-host Jerry O'Connell will fill in for her as another Big Brother 26 houseguest is evicted. Julie wrote, "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. Thankfully this is only the second time for me and it's been very mild! No fever and just a sore throat."
Julie went on to say that, unfortunately, she was still testing positive as of Thursday morning. She said, "despite feeling good, strong and my cough being gone, I must sit tonight's Big Brother live eviction show out." Julie then thanked Jerry for filling in for her. She joked, "I hope Jerry fits in to my dress, has a ball and tells the houseguests I miss them but will be watching from home." Julie concluded her post by saying, "See? Chenbot is human after all! Love one another and enjoy tonight's show."
What Julie Chen Moonves’ Absence Means For Big Brother 26
The Evicted Houseguest Will Surely Be Disappointed That Julie Isn't There
While Jerry will most likely do a great job as host, the Big Brother 26 houseguests are used to seeing Julie every week. They look forward to chatting with her and checking in with her when they cast their votes. They'll surely be sad that she's under the weather. In addition, the evicted houseguest won't have the chance to meet with Julie, which is a highlight of the Big Brother players' experiences.
Our Take On Jerry O’Connell Filling In For Julie Chen Moonves
Jerry Has Been A Fantastic Host Of Other Shows
Jerry has been a fantastic host of other TV shows, including The Talk, The Real Love Boat (alongside his wife, Rebecca Romjin), and Pictionary. It'll be interesting to see if, like Julie, he'll ask the evicted houseguest insightful questions about the game. If he's not a Big Brother viewer, hopefully the producers will guide him so that fans get the inside information about what happened this week. This will be especially true if Chelsie names a replacement nominee if Makensy uses the Power of Veto to save Angela.
Hopefully, Julie will stop testing positive for COVID-19 soon, so that she can come back to the show. It's important that Julie isn't testing positive when she meets with the houseguests because they're now headed to the Jury House, and it could affect the game if someone has to leave due to illness. Julie must stay away until the coast is clear, and then she'll be welcomed back with open arms. Julie's bout with COVID-19 is just another example of Big Brother's motto: "expect the unexpected."
