Julie Chen confirmed her exit from CBS’ “The Talk” on Tuesday, announcing her departure at the end of the show in a pre-recorded message from the set of “Big Brother.”
“Right now, I need to spend more time at home with our husband and our young son, so I’ve decided to leave ‘The Talk,’” said Chen. “I want to thank everyone at the show for the wonderful years together I will always, always cherish the memories we shared. Most important I want to thank you the viewers for allowing me into your home every day. It is a privilege I will forever be grateful for.”
Chen continued: “You ladies got this.” She endorsed “Dancing With the Stars’” judge Carrie Ann Inaba as her full-time replacement, adding: “You’d look awful good sitting in that chair, my Asian sister.”
“For eight seasons, Julie Chen has co-hosted ‘The Talk’ with incredible energy, grace and professionalism,” said CBS in a statement shortly after her announcement. “Her talents played a big role in our successful launch of CBS’ first network daytime talk show, and in the series growth into an Emmy Award-winning broadcast. All of us here have tremendous appreciation for the dedication and passion she brought to the show every day and for her generous role as an ambassador for CBS Daytime. We are grateful for her many other contributions, respect her decision and wish Julie all the best in everything she does.”
Here is Chen’s full statement, which you can watch in the video above.
I’ve been at ‘The Talk’ since the day it started 9 years ago. And the cast, crew and staff have become family to me over the years. But right now I need to spend more time at home with my husband and our young son, so I’ve decided to leave ‘The Talk.’ I want to thank everyone at the show for the wonderful years together. i will always, always treasure the memories we shared. Most important, I want to thank you the viewers for allowing me into your home every day. It was a privilege that I will forever be grateful for. [stars to choke up] To everyone behind the scenes I send you my love, I will miss you all very very much. To Eve, you’re the newest one at the table but I feel like I’ve known you forever. You are even more beautiful inside than you are on the outside — if that’s even possible, because you know I think you are flawless. Cheryl, thank you for being the perfect go-to partner for the last seven years. I open, you close and you always bring down the house. We call ourselves ‘the bookends,’ remember? And we’d always laugh when we said it to each other. Your wit and timing and humor and compassion and intelligence is simply unparalleled. You are incredible. Carrie Ann, I dunno, but in my opinion, you look awful good sitting in that chair my Asian sister. I’m just saying. And finally, to Sara and Sharon, we’ve been together since Day 1 at ‘The Talk.’ I’ve spent every day with you both. I will always treasure our friendship, the great parenting advice from both of you, and the memories, the laughs and all the private jokes that the three of us have shared. We are the original Three Musketeers. I love you all, and I know this show and the sisterhood it stands for will live on for many, many, many more years to come. You ladies got this and I could not be more proud to call you my friends. I love you.
Chen had not appeared on “The Talk” since her husband, Les Moonves, exited as chairman and CEO of CBS last Sunday, following sexual misconduct accusations from a dozen women.
Chen said in a statement last Monday she was “taking a few days off from ‘The Talk’ to be with my family” and would be “back soon.” But that didn’t stop her co-hosts from discussing the Moonves matter last week, with Sharon Osbourne saying, “Obviously, [Moonves] has a problem.”
Chen showed up to host CBS’ “Big Brother” last Thursday, calling herself “Julie Chen Moonves” in her sign-off. She will continue her role on the reality show through next week’s season finale, according to CNN.
Back in July, after Ronan Farrow’s initial New Yorker story described the accusations against Moonves, Chen briefly discussed the news on “The Talk.”
“Some of you may be aware of what’s been going on in my life the past few days,” Chen said at the top of the July 30 episode. “I issued the one and only statement I will make on Twitter. I stand by that statement today, tomorrow, and forever.”