Julie Chen: I Had Plastic Surgery To Widen My ‘Asian Eyes’

Wow! Julie made a shocking revelation during ‘secret’ week on ‘The Talk,’ saying she had plastic surgery on her eyes to make them look bigger when she was 25 years old.

Julie Chan revealed on a Sept. 11 episode of “The Talk” that she had the surgery after facing pressure from her superior and a “big-time agent” to look more “relatable” to viewers. Read on for more details.

Julie Chen’s Plastic Surgery — Secret Week: She Widened ‘Asian Eyes’

Poor Julie! After encountering racism in the workplace when she was a local news reporter in Dayton, Ohio, she felt compelled to alter her appearance for good.

When Julie asked her news director if she could fill in for anchors who were away on vacation, he said, “You will never be on this anchor desk, because you’re Chinese.”

Julie, 43, adds, “He said, ‘Let’s face it, Julie, how relatable are you to our community? How big of an Asian community do we really have in Dayton? … On top of that because of your heritage, because of your Asian eyes, I’ve noticed that when you’re on camera, when you’re interviewing someone, you look disinterested and bored because your eyes are so heavy, they are so small.'”

How awful! Julie said she was “very insecure” at the time and the criticism hurt her immensely. “It felt like a dagger in my heart,” she says. “It was racism.”

We can’t believe anyone would have the nerve to say those awful, insensitive things to Julie!

Julie Chen Reveals Her Before And After Pictures

Discouraged, Julie started looking for a job elsewhere, only to be told by a “big-time agent,” “I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look bigger.”

Julie finally gave in and got the surgery, and she revealed the shocking before and after pictures on The Talk, noting how “dramatic” the difference was. “The eyes are bigger. I look more alert. … more expressive.”

“Now, it’s like I sometimes wonder, but I will say after I had that done everything kind of, the ball did roll for me,” Julie adds. “I struggle with, ‘Wow. Did I give in to the man in doing this?'”

Julie’s co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Sharon Osbourne and Sara Gilbert all voiced their support for her decision, and Julie reflected that there’s no turning back now.

“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.”

It’s so sad that Julie faced this kind of racism and felt she had to change who she is. Still, we’re so glad she has overcome her feelings of guilt over her surgery and is moving forward. It was very brave of her to share her story, and hopefully it will serve as a cautionary tale to young women facing similar discrimination.

What do YOU think, HollywoodLifers? Do you support Julie’s controversial decision to have plastic surgery? Let us know!

WATCH: Julie Chen Opens Up About Her Plastic Surgery

— Tierney McAfee

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