‘Big Brother’ Season 19: Host Julie Chen Says She’s On Team Jessica

“Big Brother” Season 19 houseguests may not like Jessica Graf, but there is at least one person who is rooting for her to win the game.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, “Big Brother” host Julie Chen said that she’s currently on Team Jessica. When asked who she thinks is playing a strong game other than Paul Abrahamian, Chen said that she likes how Jessica is playing the game at the moment.

Read: Will Paul Manipulate Josh’s HOH Win This Week In “Big Brother” Season 19?

“She is smart and stands up for herself and is strong willed. I admire that. She doesn’t suffer fools lightly. She speaks her mind and has a firm grasp on the game and the people in the house. I am currently Team Jessica,” she said.

In last week’s episode of “Big Brother” Season 19, Jessica was left with the opportunity to take a hit on her showmance, Cody Nickson, and play along with the rest of the houseguests. Paul encouraged Jessica to not use the Halting Hex and allow Cody to be backdoored.

Paul’s manipulation was very timely because Jessica and Cody were also experiencing some personal problems of their own. Jessica was worried that Cody will just be a hothead when they leave the house and go back to the real world. Jessica also asked Cody at one point if her mom would love or hate Cody when she watches “Big Brother” at home.

But in the end, Jessica chose to stay loyal to Cody instead of Paul and his alliance members. Chen shared her thoughts on why she thought it was better to use the Halting Hex so she and Cody could stay for at least one more week. “Jessica chose to use it for her sanity instead of her game. Absolutely she should have saved it and let Cody take the hit. He was willing to do it for her. She would’ve earned major gamer points with the hardcore players like Alex Ow, and maybe even Paul,” she said.

Meanwhile, Josh Martinez has been named as this week’s Head of Household (HOH). The 23-year-old’s recent behavior of singing circus music and calling Cody and Mark Jansen meatballs did not sit well with Chen. “Josh’s behavior is juvenile and annoying,” she said.

“Big Brother” Season 19 airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. EDT on CBS.