Julie Chen Plastic Surgery, 'Big Brother 15' & 'The Talk' Host Reveals Eye Procedure To Appear Less Asian (VIDEO)
CBS' The Talk co-host Julie Chen revealed on the talk show she had plastic surgery on her eyes to appear "less Asian" for her career.
Chen made the confession on Wednesday for the daytime show's theme, "Secret Week," which began with the show's new season premiere on Monday.
Chen slipped that when she was 25 years old and worked at a television station in Dayon, Ohio, a station manager told her, "You'll never be a news anchor because you're Chinese."
Chen, 43, recalled the incident, admitting: "He said 'Let's face it Julie, how relatable are you to our community? How big of an Asian community do we have in Dayton? On top of that because of your Asian eyes, I've noticed that when you're on camera, you look disinterested and bored.'"
Chen said "it was racism" and the comments felt like a "dagger" in her heart because she wanted to pursue a career in broadcasting in New York.
She said she became very insecure about her eyes and sought advice from agents. A "big time" agent told her he couldn't represent her unless her eyes were bigger.
"He said, 'I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look bigger,'" she said, adding that she eventually got the procedure done, which trimmed down the excess skin found above the eyelids.
Chen then showed before and after pictures of herself on the big screen to the studio audience.
"The eyes are bigger," she explained of the difference the surgery made. "I look more alert. ... more expressive."
Chen's co-hosts vocalized they supported her decision.
"It was the right thing to do," said Sharon Osbourne, while Sara Gilbert told her, "I think you were beautiful before and you're beautiful now."
Chen added, "I don't like to live with regrets. I did it. I moved on. No one's more proud of being Chinese than I am."
Chen has been a co-host on The Talk since it premiered on CBS in October, 2010. She is also currently the host on the US version Big Brother season 15. She has been with the reality show since season 1 premiered in 2000.
