Julie Chen to Miss Big Brother Live Eviction for First Time, Taps Jerry O'Connell to Host

"Anyone who watches this show knows that I'm a huge Big Brother fan and I'm a huge fan of the host and the talk alum Julie Chen Moonves," O'Connell said

Jerry O’Connell can do it all!

On Thursday, Sept. 12, Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves announced she wouldn’t be hosting the live eviction that night for the first time since its inception in 2000. Explaining that she is sick, she revealed O’Connell would be stepping in for her.

“Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and went to see my good friend who is an ENT,” she wrote on her social media. “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.”

“Unfortunately, I am still testing positive as of this morning… despite feeling good, strong and my cough being gone, I must sit tonight’s Big Brother live eviction show out,” she continued. “Thank you to Jerry O’Connell for filling in for me. I hope Jerry fits into my dress, has a ball and tells the houseguests I miss them but will be watching from home.”

She signed the message with her classic line: “See? Chenbot is human after all! Love one another and enjoy tonight’s show.”

Related: Julie Chen Moonves Reveals Who She Thinks Is Running the House on Big Brother Season 25 (Exclusive)

On the Sept. 12 episode of The Talk, which O’Connell co-hosts, he reacted to the role after joking on Instagram that he was going to be “the substitute teacher” that night.

“Anyone who watches this show knows that I'm a huge Big Brother fan and I'm a huge fan of the host and The Talk alum Julie Chen Moonves,” he said on air.

Chen Moonves then called in to say she was on the mend before giving O’Connell some advice for the gig. “Jerry, thank you for stepping in, you're going to do an amazing job tonight, incredible,” she said.

“Tonight is a big night — it’s an eviction night,” O’Connell responded. “I think the house guests are going to be super bummed because I don't think they know that you're not coming, so I'm gonna see them at the live show and they're gonna be like, ‘Where's Julie?’”

Related: Julie Chen Moonves Was ‘Forced to Take’ 'Big Brother' Hosting Role and Met with ‘Hate’ for First Season

Teasing her understudy, Chen Moonves told O’Connell the episode was the first of “jury house isolation,” where contestants are cut off from the outside world until the finale. She also joked about the shoes O’Connell had to fill to truly be her.

“Jerry, I know you’re a movie star, you're a gameshow host, you're a talk show host, you're a husband, you're a father to two beautiful girls,” she began. “But I've gotta give you a very important tip for tonight. When you go into my dressing room, go into the bathroom. On the second drawer to the left, there is a corset.”

“I'm telling you, Jerry, there is no way you're going to fit into my dress tonight without a corset,” she joked, telling him to ask hair and makeup for help tightening it. “When you get that corset, you step into it then you say, ‘Alright girls, come on in. It’s tug of war time.’”

The Talk hosts laughed as Chen Moonves told Jerry to “have them keep pulling,” but not “too tight” that he has back fat.

“Alright!” O’Connell exclaimed, clapping and blowing kisses to Chen Moonves.

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