Julie Chen’s husband, CBS chief Leslie Moonves, demanded she take less money to get “Celebrity Big Brother” on air.
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“If you know one thing about my husband, it has to make economic sense,” Chen told The Hollywood Reporter. And that economic sense makes for some very stern negotiations, even with Moonves own wife! “He comes home for dinner and says in a very ‘Godfather’, mafioso-style, ‘Jules, you tell your lawyer this is not a negotiation. This is what the deal is and you’re going to accept it.’ And I said, ‘Is that the way you speak to your wife?'”
Adding to the complexity of the situation, Chen’s lawyer just so happens to be Moonves brother. “He said, ‘You tell your attorney this is not a game we’re playing. Everyone’s taking a haircut. This is the only way it will make sense financially,'” the television host recalled. “‘You shouldn’t be expected to be paid as if it’s a full series. It’s a condensed version.'”
The reason Chen was asked to take a pay cut is because “Celebrity Big Brother” is typically far shorter than a regular season of the reality television show. A typical season of “Big Brother” lasts for over 90 days, whereas the celebrity adaptation in the U.K. has run from anywhere between eight and 32 days.
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‘Big Brother 19’ airs Sundays and Wednesdays and ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ will premiere this winter. Watch ‘Big Brother’ online the day after broadcast on GlobalTV.com or on the free Global Go app for iOS and Android.