Big Brother Season 28 brought Survivor vets Rick Devens and Dee Valladares into the game to compete, and Julie Chen Moonves didn't hide her feelings about them. The host didn't appreciate the cockiness of Devens in particular, but has since confirmed she's warmed up to what she originally saw as someone she once described as "performative."As the 2026 TV schedule brings us to the season finale, Devens may become the first former Survivor player to win Big Brother. Ahead of the finale, Moonves spoke to EW about her previous comments about the competitor and how watching him compete on Big Brother changed how she felt about him. (Image credit: Matthew Taplinger/CBS)What Julie Chen Moonves Originally Thought Of Rick DevensJulie was pretty blunt in her assessment of Devens prior to the season, and fans keeping up with the memes almost certainly saw the clip. She said it seemed that Devens didn't understand the basic fundamentals of BB, and she didn't get what the hype was about: I know people love Devens, and he was great at Survivor. This ain’t Survivor, honey. This here Big Brother.That clip has gone viral a hundred times over this season, but never with the first sentence that directly tied it to Devens. It's hilarious that it got so popular, especially now that Julie Chen Moonves has to walk back her comments. (Image credit: CBS)Julie Apologized, Clarified, And Explained Why She's Now Supporting Rick DevensAfter seeing him win in competitions and seeing him make the moves you need to win Big Brother, Julie is ready to say she was wrong. Granted, Julie said she was originally rooting for Devens at first, after hearing she had something in common with him: I have acknowledged that I was being a jerk, and I was letting my own foolish ego get in the way. Like, I was like, 'Why are you rooting against this dude?'...There were a few reasons. When I found out a local morning news person entering, I was rooting for him before I knew him. Julie apparently doesn't watch Survivor on CBS or with her Paramount+ subscription, because she was in the dark about the details on Rick Devens. She learned soon enough, however, that he was a big fan of Jeff Probst and ready to show his pride on her show. Rick and Julie got off on the wrong foot during the first live show, when he did something that ruffled her feathers. The host recalled the moment and how his first eviction vote made her see red: Then, first live eviction he goes into the diary room with a suit and tie and a Survivor buff. Pissed me off. I was like, 'This here is Big Brother. This is Big Brother house here buddy.' I thought like, oh, that feels a little performative. You had to like pack your tie and suit. You know it's not going to serve you in Big Brother. It's nice to see she felt just as passionately mad about that moment as some Big Brother fans. Sure, there's a lot of crossover where people who enjoy the reality show also love Survivor. That said, shouting out Jeff and rocking a buff in the house felt like disrespect and made it easy to root against him early on. Slowly but surely, Rick got a better grasp on Big Brother. While he still had some annoying habits, even his wife and mother-in-law couldn't tolerate, Julie conceded that he won her over: Then, what do you know, expect the unexpected, I end up loving the guy. He wins competition after competition. He wins competition even when he's trying to throw a competition. So God humbled me and I like the guy now. And if he wins, he deserves it. I think many Big Brother fans would say Rick Devens is a deserving winner, and arguably a bigger legend in this game than he's been in Survivor. Sure, "Chaos Devens" was fun on the island, but he's spent more time in the BB house in one season than he did in two seasons on Survivor. Whether Devens wins Big Brother is a different story. He's done one hard part by winning Part 2 of the Final HOH competition, meaning he'll compete in Part 3, which takes place during the live finale. If he loses, there's a good chance that he's cut by Taylor before Final 2, as she believes she has a chance to win against Drew Campbell. Can Rick win it all? We'll find out as the Big Brother Season 28 finale kicks off at 8:00 p.m. ET. Of course, CinemaBlend will have more coverage of the aftermath with the remaining Houseguests, so be sure to keep an eye out for what Devens has to say after the game is done.