Julie Chen Moonves Accuses 2 Former The Talk Cohosts of Pushing Her Off Show

Julie Chen Moonves says her leaving The Talk involved conversations that took place outside of the roundtable.

The But First, God author—who recently reflected on her 2018 departure from the daytime talk show—is opening up about the circumstances she said that led to her exiting the series, accusing two of her former costars of being behind the move.

"I never revealed it before but, in the audio memoir, I talk about how when I gave that public statement, I said, 'I've decided to leave,'" Julie exclusively told Adrienne Bailon-Houghton and Justin Sylvester during the Sept. 19 episode of E! News. "It was decided for me by two former cohosts, who said that if I came back for season nine, that they wouldn't be there. So I had to leave."

The Big Brother host added, "It's one thing if you feel like you've had the rug pulled out from under you. It's another thing when you have it done by people you were so close to and you considered friends. So, that was a hard time."

However, Julie attributes her ability to move on past that time to her faith.

"The good news is, when you fall down and you look up, whose hand is extended? God," she shared. "I mean, it was all of those events that led me to start a relationship with God after 48 years of ignoring him. So, I'm actually very thankful."

The news anchor had confirmed in September 2018 that she would not return as a co-host after eight years on the show just days after Julie's husband Les Moonves resigned as CEO of the network amid allegations of sexual misconduct, accusations he has denied.

But season nine of The Talk wasn't the only time Julie faced a rocky conversation. As the 53-year-old explained, she experienced "growing pains" with former cohost Leah Remini after the show's first season.

"I had gone on vacation, only to come back to a very icy room to find out that, while I was gone, there was movement," Julie said, "and part of that movement was someone that I was the closest to on the show, which was Leah Remini. Ultimately, she and someone else went to the network and said, you know, ‘Her or us next season.' And the decision was made that I would come back and she didn't get her contract picked up."

Julie said it was a decision that led to her and the King of Queens alum to not speak for eight years.

"I even ran into her and she tried to apologize and I was so foolish and hard-hearted and stubborn," Julie continued. "And it took my personal relationship with God, knowing God and knowing the power of forgiveness, that I reached out to her."

As the Early Show alum explained, she was able to break the ice with Leah after a friendly run-in with Leah's husband Angelo Pagan. And their road has been smooth sailing ever since.

"Now, we laugh, we're closer than ever," Julie added. "But it was eight years of my foolishness that were wasted."

E! News has reached out to The Talk and Leah's reps for comment and has not heard back.

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