‘Big Brother’ Host Julie Chen Moonves Teases ‘Controversial People’ Being ‘Factored In’ to Season 28 — Matthew Taplinger/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.

Julie Chen Moonves is dropping some major hints about what — or who — season 28’s “time travel” twist will bring to the Big Brother house.

“That could go forwards or backwards, and that will play into some of the competitions. Does that mean we’re going to bring back some competition you haven’t seen since season 3,2,4, [or] 5? I sure hope so,” the Big Brother host, 56, exclusively tells Us Weekly and additional outlets during a preseason roundtable. “I’m pretty sure you’re gonna [be], like, ‘Oh, they haven’t done that forever.’”

According to Chen Moonves, that’s not all that the incoming houseguests will be forced to endure.

“And then with [the] time travel theme, maybe we’ll do the new twist, which you loved that competition in season four, but they have to be in, like, I don’t know, surrounded by dinosaurs, who knows, and controversial people will be factored in,” she shares.

Related: Julie Chen Moonves Shares What Makes Some Showmances Work on ‘Big Brother’

Big Brother is a social game, and sometimes it helps to have a partner by your side. From Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd to whatever Vince Panaro and Morgan Pope had last year, showmances have been a staple of the game for almost as long as it has existed. But what makes some showmances work, […]

Chen Moonves adds that what Big Brother has cooked up for season 28 will please the fans.

“It’s good TV, and if you love reality television beyond Big Brother, yes, there are other shows beyond Big Brother, you’ll be excited as well,” she says.

Big Brother’s time travel theme was revealed on Wednesday, July 1, when the official house tour dropped.

“For season 28 we’re throwing out all the rules of time and space and sending our houseguests on a journey unlike anything you’ve ever seen before,” Chen Moonves said in the trailer for the upcoming season. “From prehistoric times to iconic decades, and unforgettable moments from Big Brother history, this house is packed with surprises around every single corner.”

Fans will have to wait a little longer to see what Chen Moonves meant by “controversial people” being “factored” into the game, as the official season 28 cast has yet to be revealed. Rumors have swirled online that former houseguests could be returning to the game.

Several alums have spoken out before and since the reveal, warning fans that they should not expect to see them in the house on premiere night. Legendary player Janelle Pierzina posted online that she doesn’t have the bandwidth to play the reality TV game for a fifth time.

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Related: 'Big Brother’ Host Julie Chen Moonves Reveals if She's Going to Retire

Big Brother fans shouldn’t expect to see Julie Chen Moonves walk away from hosting the program any time soon. When asked by Entertainment Weekly if she had any intention of retiring from the show, Chen Moonves, 55, gave a pretty iconic answer. “You know what? This is a game of chicken. As long as [Jeff] […]

“No, I’m not doing #BB28,” the four-time player, 46, wrote via X last month. “Between selling houses, running Airbnbs, raising three kids, and pretending I know what day it is, I don’t have time to be locked in a house for 100 days. You guys can fight over slop without me. 😂.”

Another iconic old school player, Danielle Reyes, also shared that she has other obligations this summer.

“I’m working. I’m not doing Big Brother 28,” the Traitors alum, 54, said in a video shared via X last month. “I know, I know. I appreciate you guys hoping but I haven’t been contacted by the producers. I am excited that this season is going to be the 1,000th episode of Big Brother. How exciting is that? And I haven’t been invited to do anything for this. So you guys more than likely won’t see me.”

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Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA’s rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA's rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

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Meet Melat Kiros, the Ethiopian-born anti-Israel socialist crusader who is DSA’s rising star after stunning upset in Colorado

By Ryan King Published July 1, 2026, 2:06 p.m. ET

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WASHINGTON — Democratic socialism is spreading West.

Political newcomer Melat Kiros, 29, who took down 15-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Col.) in a stunning primary upset Tuesday, is riding a wave of anti-Israel and anti-ICE sentiment sweeping her party.

The Ethiopian-born PhD student has pushed to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), suggested that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks were “inevitable,” downplayed suggestions that a firebombing of a Jewish rally was an act of antisemitism, and more.

Once in the House of Representatives, which is considered likely because she’s in a safe blue district, Kiros has vowed to push Democrats as far left as possible and to oppose Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) becoming speaker.

Political awakening

Kiros refined many of her far-left views in law school at Notre Dame in the early 2020s, a period she describes as her political awakening, as the country was roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic and peak wokeness.

“I literally watched the Federalist Society handpicking some of my classmates onto the judge track in their decades-long bid to pack the courts,” she complained, according to Vox. “…I just lost faith in the system; I think a lot of young people did.”

Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros smiles at her primary election night watch party. — The democratic socialist has been a staunch critic of capitalism, Israel, and ICE. AP Photo/Rebecca Slezak

After law school in 2022, she joined the law firm Sidley Austin in New York, where she worked as a regulatory and enforcement associate. The following year, she was fired for writing a viral open letter lambasting law firms for pushing to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses.

“By chilling future lawyers’ employment prospects for criticism of the Israeli government’s actions and its legitimacy, you are complicit in Israel’s weaponization of anti-Semitism against legitimate concerns for the right of self-determination and the livelihood of the Palestinian people,” she wrote in the missive.

Sidley Austin demanded she take the letter down, but Kiros claims she refused and was fired as a result.

“I didn’t flinch because I stood by every word and I always will,” she boasted during her victory speech Tuesday.

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That move drew headlines and boosted her name recognition in lefty circles.

After losing her law gig, Kiros moved back to Colorado, where her family had immigrated while she was just 11-months-old. Her father had been picked in America’s Diversity Visa Lottery, per her campaign website.

Back home, she enrolled in a PhD program in public policy and worked as a barista.

Then, in the middle of last year, she decided to launch a seemingly long-shot primary challenge against DeGette, who is widely considered to be a very progressive lawmaker and has served in Congress longer than Kiros has been alive.

DeGette had the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Diana DeGette speaking into a pink microphone at a League of Women Voters forum. — Rep. Diana DeGette was one of the more progressive members of the House Democratic Caucus. Denver Post via Getty Images

But Kiros’ candidacy caught fire with the DSA and other lefty groups that were hunting for candidates to take on incumbent Democrats and push the party further leftwards.

One of the major differences between the two was Kiros’ tougher stance against Israel. DeGette faced grassroots pushback for supporting defensive aid to Israel.

Kiros, however, made tough talk against the Jewish state a feature of her campaign.

For example, she told notorious lefty streamer Hasan Piker that the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack was an “inevitable consequence of apartheid,” though she later clarified she wasn’t trying to say it was justified.

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Piker is a very controversial streamer, having declared that “America deserved 9/11″ and praised the “brave mujahideen” who injured Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas).

In a similar vein, she told 9News journalist Kyle Clark that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an “inevitable consequence” of US foreign policy.

Kiros has stirred local controversy for downplaying the role of antisemitism in the June 1, 2025, firebombing attack at a weekly Jewish gathering aimed at bringing attention to the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. One person was killed and a dozen were injured in that attack.

Melat Kiros speaking to supporters at an election-night watch party. — Melat Kiros has indicated she won’t support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. Getty Images

The attacker, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, screamed “Free Palestine” before later stating that he “wanted to kill all Zionist people,” according to the FBI.

Kiros repeatedly declined to call it antisemitism and told NOTUS that it wasn’t “entirely obvious that it was just motivated by antisemitism.”

Many of her positions are similar to those of other DSA members, including support for Medicare for All, a modified Green New Deal, and mass amnesty. Kiros also wants a 10% slash in Pentagon spending.

“People are seeing that capitalism is responsible for a lot of the degradation that we’re seeing in our economy, that we’re seeing in our democracy, that we’re certainly seeing in our climate as well,” she claimed in a recent interview.

“They’re demanding a new way to organize our economy.”

Should she win in November, she will be the first Gen. Z woman to serve in Congress and the second Zoomer overall, after Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)

She is riding a socialist revolt within the Democratic Party, as far-left candidates have won primaries across New York, Maine, Illinois, and elsewhere heading into the midterms.

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