Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves has had a change of heart after being critical of houseguest Rick Devens’ gameplay.
“I like him. You can’t not like Rick Devens, so I’ve been humbled,” Chen Moonves, 56, exclusively shared with Us before the Thursday, October 1, finale of CBS’ hit reality show. “Look, no one can be a performative phony for 87 days straight, especially in a show like Big Brother with the live feeds. You can’t be a phony for that long. He’s someone who it’s very easy to root for him.”
When Big Brother 28 kicked off in July, Chen Moonves was not the biggest cheerleader for Devens, 42, who previously competed on seasons 38 and 50 of Survivor.
“I know people love Devens, and he was great at Survivor,” she shared with Entertainment Weekly at the time. “This ain’t Survivor, honey. This here [is] Big Brother.”
Chen Moonves called some of Devens’ early moves “terrible” before adding, “I was like, ‘Go back to the island, dude! I’m gonna snuff out your flame.’”
Now that Devens is in the final three with Taylor Brown and Drew Campbell, Chen Moonves is happy to give credit where credit is due.
“I’ve been working it out between me and Jesus, and he’s telling me, ‘Love one another,’ and he’s telling me, ‘Thou shalt not judge,’ and I think he’s teaching me a lesson for that reason. I think God is going to say, ‘All right, we’ve got to have Rick Devens win it,’” Chen Moonves told Us. “Don’t forget he’s older. He has a wife. He has two little kids. They were rooting for him. You want a guy to be able to provide for his family. … We’ll see.”
Before the Big Brother jury casts their votes on Thursday evening, Chen Moonves is proud of the final three for making it so far in an always unpredictable game.
After having a front-row seat to all the shocking evictions and unexpected moves, the host of summer’s addictive reality show doesn’t even know who could win the $750,000 cash prize.
“I have butterflies in my stomach,” she said. “It’s anyone’s game. I’m so excited, and I’m happy no matter who wins because I’m very happy with this final three.”
After this season of Big Brother featured two former Survivor contestants (Dee Valladares also competed), Us asked Chen Moonves whether any other players should be sent to Fiji to experience host Jeff Probst’s popular CBS show.
Without hesitation, Chen Moonves recommended Kamu Kirk.
“I think he could crush it. He’s an athlete. I don’t think he’s scared of the elements,” she said. “I’d like to see Kamu. I’d also love to see Yash [Patel]. I think he’s hysterical and a great competitor. I don’t know if I want to see Angela [Murray] because I love her, but I think they would edit her too much. I love her on live feeds. I’d love to see Lala [Verrett]. She’s fierce. She won the wall [competition]. Let’s see what she’s got on the island.”
Big Brother’s season finale airs on CBS Thursday, October 1, at 8 p.m. ET.