For Julie Chen, the #MeToo movement and the 2018 sexual misconduct allegations against her husband Les Moonves remain sensitive topics.
“We’re not here to talk about that,” Chen told “Good Morning America” reporter Juju Chang, who asked her about the allegations against her husband. Instead, Chen wanted to focus from the interview be in his audio memoir, “But First, God,” in which he recounts how he found Christ in the midst of professional and personal turmoil.
In July 2018, Chen’s husband, the former CEO of CBS, was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct by multiple women. The scandal jeopardized Moonves and Chen’s careers at CBS. Within months of the accusations, Chen left the daytime network’s “The Talk” and Moonves. left the broadcasting company no severance package.
According to Chang, Chen said in the book that leaving “The Talk” in September 2018 It wasn’t his decision. “I never revealed it until ‘But First, God,’” Chen said.
And he added: “That was a difficult moment. I felt stabbed in the back. Was.”
Representatives for “The Talk” did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Tuesday.
Chen told Chang that “of course” she and Moonves discussed the allegations and repeatedly said, “I know my husband.” She recalled having to tell her son, Charlie, who will turn 14 on Sunday, about the allegations against her father.
“I told him there were false reports about our family. I kept it simple,” she recalled. “I told him, ‘So if you ever hear anything, come to us first.’ You know this family. You know who we are. Don’t let anyone shake that.’”
Later in the conversation, Chang told Chen that there was no direct mention of “#Me too” in her book and asked the “Big Brother” host what she thought about the movement. “Well, I think that’s deviating from ‘But first, God,’” Chen began.
He continued: “We all go through difficult times in this world, in our lives, and mine didn’t end just because I found Christ. “I think we need to keep our focus on him.”
Chen concluded the interview by sharing some hopes for readers listening to her memoir, now available for purchase on various audio platforms. “God before anything and everything,” she said.
“What I hope people get is what I got from starting a personal relationship with God,” he added. “I found peace, I found hope.”