CBS

Julie Chen did something Thursday night she has never done in her 19-year run at CBS ... she ID'd herself as "Julie Chen Moonves" ... and make no mistake about it -- it's a big statement.

Julie came back to CBS to host "Big Brother" ... 4 days after her husband and former boss Les Moonves was removed as the network's head honcho.

Julie never referenced the scandal or Les by name, but closed the show with a bang. Mind you ... Julie has been an anchor on "CBS This Morning," "The Talk," "Big Brother" and other CBS shows and she has NEVER used her husband's surname ... until now.

Before the show, Julie teased her return with a photo holding "Big Brother" cue cards, but she made it clear for everyone... her wedding ring and her marriage are intact.

Julie has not returned to "The Talk," and it's unclear when that will happen, but Sharon Osbourne said on Monday she'd be back after taking a few days off.

Short story ... all the people who thought Julie would follow her husband out the door may be wrong.

One of the most famous "Big Brother" contestants says the show is rock solid ... despite rumors longtime host, Julie Chen, might be leaving Big Brother with Les Moonves now gone.

Dan Gheesling -- who won season 10 and was the runner-up on season 14 of "Big Brother" -- says if Julie steps away from her hosting role on CBS' hit reality series, whoever replaces her will have some massive shoes to fill. Her 18-year run has been that iconic.

So far, Julie has not given even a hint that she'll leave the show. In fact, she made it clear ... she'll be hosting Thursday night's episode.

The real question ... will "Big Brother" go on the chopping block now that Moonves is gone? Sharon Osbourne said this week on "The Talk" nobody's job is safe now ... nor are any of the CBS shows in the wake of Moonves' departure.

Ultimately it comes down to ratings. Although Dan says the show is a juggernaut ... the ratings are down this season from last, although the all-important demos are still strong.

Julie Chen is taking time off her gig on CBS' "The Talk" to be with husband, Les Moonves, who just resigned from heading up the network amid sexual misconduct allegations, and Sharon Osbourne says people at CBS -- including the ladies at "The Talk" -- are fearful of losing their jobs.

Julie is still featured in the opening of the show, but when the remaining 4 women walked out onstage, Sharon began by saying it's the first time on the show she's been nervous.

She explained Julie has been there for her over the last 9 years since the show debuted, and then walked a tightrope, saying she now believes the stories of Moonves' accusers are strikingly similar and credible.

Sharon then suggested her own show might be on the chopping block because there's now a new regime at CBS ... and not just her show -- all shows.

Julie issued a statement saying she will be appearing on "Big Brother" this Thursday, adding, "I am taking a few days off from 'The Talk' to be with my family. I will be back soon and will see you Thursday night on 'Big Brother.'"

There was speculation Julie might also leave the network, but so far no evidence of that.

7:25 PM PT -- Les Moonves has issued a statement in the wake of his ouster from CBS, saying in part ... "Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am. Effective immediately I will no longer be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company. I wish nothing but the best for the organization, the newly comprised board of directors and all of its employees."

4:30 PM PT -- It's just been announced Moonves is out at CBS, and the network is implementing a big shakeup on its board of directors through a company-wide settlement. Interestingly, CBS says $20 million will be donated on Moonves' and the network's behalf to an org that supports #MeToo, which is set to be made immediately. The cash will come out of any severance benefits owed to Moonves following a pending investigation into his alleged misconduct. The company also notes that Moonves will not be getting any type of severance package at this point, but may receive further payment once its investigation is wrapped and after a final evaluation from the Board.

CBS's longtime CEO, Les Moonves, is reportedly resigning from his position as head of the network after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN's Brian Stelter reported Sunday that Moonves would be stepping down and that the official announcement would be made either Sunday night or early Monday morning. This comes on the heels of a second New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow where six additional women accused Moonves of sexual misconduct.

The allegations range from Moonves allegedly forcing oral sex on certain women, exposing himself without permission to others ... and allegedly using physical violence or intimidation against them.

He'd already been accused of sexual misconduct from 6 separate women earlier this summer -- including allegations of sexual assault from the 1980s ... for which he will not face criminal charges. Ronan wrote that earlier piece as well.

Moonves has worked at CBS since 1995, where he first served as president of CBS Entertainment. He served as CEO of CBS Television from '98 to 2003, and was eventually bumped up to chairman and CEO of the entire company in 2003. He's responsible for greenlighting series like 'CSI,' 'Without a Trace,' 'NCIS,' 'Survivor,' 'Cold Case' and many, many other hit shows.

Reports have recently said that Moonves and the CBS board were negotiating an exit package for him somewhere in the ball park of $100 million. Stelter says exit talks have been finalized, but did not report on any specific figure.

Roy Moore followed through on his threat -- he's suing Sacha Baron Cohen for portraying him as a pedophile on national TV ... and he's gunning for tens of millions of dollars.

Moore and his wife, Kayla, filed suit against Sacha, Showtime and CBS for duping him into appearing on Cohen's "Who Is America?" In the episode Sacha, disguised as an ex-Israeli intelligence officer, waved a wand that could supposedly detect enzymes secreted by pedophiles.

Of course, the device went off like crazy when he used it on Moore. Viewers might have laughed, but Roy isn't.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the entire interview was set up under false pretenses. The Moores say they never would've agreed to meet with Sacha or sign his release form had they known it was all a sham.

More importantly, they say Sacha's gag -- which aired last month -- made Roy look like a sex offender, and seriously tarnished his reputation, caused emotional distress and financial damage. They insist Roy is not a sex offender, and Sacha's prank amounts to defamation. They're suing for at least $95 million.

The former U.S. Senate hopeful faced multiple allegations that he'd preyed on minors decades ago ... accusations that surfaced while he was running for Senate in Alabama last year. He vehemently denied the claims, and has never been charged with a crime.

Stevie Wonder choked back tears during an interview in which he revealed his last words to Aretha Franklin before she died.

Stevie joined "CBS This Morning" Friday and almost immediately got emotional when asked about his last real conversation with the Queen of Soul, which was about 2 months ago. Stevie -- who said Aretha couldn't talk when he visited her Tuesday -- said he told her to "say hello to my sister."

Stevie's sister died earlier this year. Reports say her decomposed body was found in her home.

Stevie revealed there were plans to do some music together ... including a duet with Aretha for a song he'd written. Aretha and Stevie were incredibly close. She covered Stevie's 'Until You Come Back to Me' and they performed it together at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards in 2005.

Les Moonves won't face criminal charges for a woman's claims he sexually abused her in the late '80s ... according to the L.A. County D.A.'s office.

The CBS honcho's accused of 2 separate incidents of sexual assault -- one in 1986 and one in 1988 -- by an unidentified woman who went to cops in February.

The woman -- listed as an acquaintance who knew Moonves through her job in the TV industry -- claims the 1986 incident included forced oral sex, and the 1988 allegations include indecent exposure and assault.

But, according to the D.A. ... the statute of limitations has expired for all of the alleged incidents, so prosecutors are declining to pursue charges.

The CEO of CBS is being accused of sexual misconduct ... and the network says it's investigating and the allegations are being taken seriously.

Les Moonves is being accused of unwanted kissing and touching 20 years ago in an article -- written by Ronan Farrow -- set to be published Friday in the New Yorker, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

CBS says its Independent Directors teams is looking into the claim and "Upon the conclusion of that investigation ... the Board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action."

Meanwhile, CBS stock has plummeted in wake of the news ... losing about 7 percent of its value.

4:36 PM PT -- Reyes just filed an additional complaint -- this time naming Sherri as a defendant -- for the incident.

Sherri Shepherd's rant about being racially profiled got a Staples store employee fired, according to the employee, who's now suing media outlets that covered the story ... but not Sherri.

Instead, Janice Reyes is suing "The Wendy Williams Show" and CBS Television after they aired the video Sherri posted back in February -- she slammed Reyes as a racist for refusing to let her and a friend use the Hollywood store's restroom.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Reyes says she got canned 5 days after Sherri's post. Reyes says her supervisor told her the bathrooms were getting fixed, and instructed her to keep customers away. She says that's the only reason she stopped Sherri.

Reyes claims Shepherd and her friend confronted her while ringing them up ... calling her a liar and accusing her of racism. Reyes admits she said, "I'm not taking this s***" and walked away.

Reyes says she was told she was getting fired for swearing, but she thinks the real reason was Sherri accusing her of racism.

She's suing for loss of wages and other damages. She's suing CBS because it aired "Inside Edition" ... which also covered the story.

CBS didn't unleash the big legal guns after 'Survivor' star Jonny Fairplay allegedly jacked its show's logo ... but the network does wanna have a chat with the former show villain.

TMZ's obtained a legal letter CBS fired off to Jonny warning him about using the "Survivor" logo for his podcast, formerly known as "Survival of the Fairest" ... which has since been renamed 'Survivor NSFW.'

CBS says it owns the logo, but what's interesting is the friendly language with which it approaches Jonny about using its logo.

Most warning shots are more threatening ... some examples here, here and here. But, not with Jonny.

In fact, CBS goes out of its way to play nice ... even saying they "appreciate interest in the Series, including a podcast about the Series."

But it's not all sweet talk. According to the letter, the studio has also noticed the season 7 third place finisher is selling apparel with the show's logo. CBS is worried Jonny's logo will cause fans to think the network endorses the podcast.

CBS ends the letter with, "We would like to set up a time to discuss the above with you. Please give me a call or send me an email with your availability."

Dan Rather says he can handle a little Hollywood interference to make a Thailand cave rescue movie, because the story is just that great.

We got the CBS News legend Tuesday in NYC hours after it was announced that all 12 boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were successfully saved from a flooded cave after being trapped for more than 2 weeks. Dan had 1 word for it this AM ... any guesses?

Our camera guy also asks what he makes of Hollywood types rushing to crank out a movie about the rescue, which Dan acknowledges is definitely going on and seems to frown upon.

"Big Brother" houseguest Kaitlyn went from zero to stupid real quick when she dropped the n-word Thursday night during the show's online live feed.

She was talking to 2 other guests -- Tyler and Scottie -- about making a quick transition ... when Kaitlyn, who is white, decided it was the perfect time to quote Drake's "0 to 100" ... and NOT the clean version. She said, "I did go zero to 100 n**ga, real quick."

Seems like she realized her idiocy real quick too ... because she immediately said "Oops," and continued mumbling lyrics to the song as if to say ... I was just singing a song, I'm not racist!

All 3 of 'em must have remembered at that moment producers JUST finished warning them about this kinda crap ... after Angela and Rachel worried their tans would make them look too "ghetto."

More controversy out of the 'Big Brother' house -- this time two white housemates complained the sun was making them too dark ... and likened that to looking "ghetto."

'BB' contestants Rachel Swindler and Angela Rummans were captured on the show's live feed Monday saying some pretty racist sounding s**t. Rachel kicks it off by saying her stomach was as dark as fellow houseguest Bayleigh Dayton -- who is black.

Angela makes things worse by responding with ... "I know. I'm looking ghetto here with the skin coloration." Rachel continues to gripe that she can't be in the sun for more than two days, otherwise she would "change ethnicities." Yikes ...

A "Big Brother" houseguest tried using an ice cream scooper on the genitals of several of his housemates ... and fans are crying foul.

JC Mounduix was captured on the show's online live feed attempting to place the scooper in or around the privates of some other cast members -- namely Kaycee Clark, Kaitlyn Herman and Tyler Crispen.

At one point, JC told Kaycee to open her vagina because it "feels good." He tries it on Kaitlyn too, going under a blanket and trying to get it near her ... apparently against her will. JC also tries going for Tyler, who covers himself and says "no." Later, he's seen touching Tyler's genitals.

None of the housemates complained about JC's behavior -- not on camera, anyway -- but, many fans online are calling out producers for not disciplining JC, or kicking him out of the house entirely.

11:13 AM PT -- Jessica Peet tells TMZ ... "I want to apologize for what I posted as a 14-year-old teenager. In no way did I mean it in a derogatory nor racial way. I do hope people are willing to forgive, and understand I was immature and I've done a lot of growing up since then."

One of the 'Survivor' contestants from the upcoming season is catching heat before the show even airs ... for using the n-word so much on Twitter, you'd think she was Jay-Z.

19-year-old Jessica Peet is a cast member on "Survivor: David vs. Goliath" and, as it always does ... the Internet scoured her social media, and turned up scores of old tweets where she gratuitously drops the n-word.

She even defends using it, saying, "n***a isn't a cuss word !! Lol" -- and, in another, adds ... "I have a way with words..... N***a." Indeed.

The tweets, which 'Survivor' fans grabbed before they were deleted, are from 2013 to 2015. Many fans online are calling Peet a racist.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... CBS is aware of the situation, and Peet apologized by saying she was "young and dumb." She would've been between 14 and 16 at the time.

This drama comes on the heels of a pair of upcoming contestants getting into hot water for breaking their NDAs by posting a pic together ... before CBS revealed the cast.

Dan Rather gives President Trump props for talking peace with North Korea instead of making war ... but adds, so far, Kim Jong-un's the only one who's won anything out of the summit.

The CBS news icon told us Tuesday in NYC, he's hopeful -- but still skeptical -- the summit will be a win for the United States. He says N. Korea's supreme leader's already rung up a big W, while all Trump has up to this point is a great photo op.