Julie Chen’s plastic surgery was in response to discrimination.

Julie Chen’s plastic surgery revelation came during this week’s “The Talk,” where each of the five hosts have been divulging secrets all week. Sara Gilbert revealed that she realized she was a lesbian while dating her “Roseanne” costar Johnny Galecki. Sharon Osbourne admitted she had a fling with Jay Leno when she was 25. Aisha Tyler talked about her problems with getting pregnant.

When it came time for Julie Chen to make her big reveal, she said “My secret dates back to—my heart is racing—it dates back to when I was 25 years old and I was working as a local news reporter in Dayton, Ohio. I asked my news director [if] over the holidays, if anchors want to take vacations, could I fill in?”

Julie Chen’s plastic surgery admission started when she showed a clip from when she was a newscaster at a local Dayton, Ohio, network when she was 25 years old. The young Julie Chen was saying “The problem was in the solution!”

Julie Chen went on to reveal that her boss at the station didn’t think the up-and-coming Julie Chen could solve the problems of sitting in for vacationing anchors. Julie Chen was told “You will never be on this anchor desk, because you're Chinese.” Julie Chen relayed that “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.'"

The admonition caused Julie Chen to develop a deep insecurity around her eyes. Chen began to tape her segments to evaluate just how heavy her lids looked on camera. Julie Chen understood that her boss was being racist, but she worried he might have a point when it came to an on-camera news career.

Julie Chen decided to get plastic surgery after a “big time agent” refused to handle her until she “got plastic surgery to make [her] eyes look bigger.” The agent “whipped out a list of plastic surgeons” and told her surgery would take her “straight to the top.”

Chen said “Fast forward, I'm like, I need to get another job—if I can—so I start meeting with agents for career advice. This one big-time agent basically told me the same thing. He said, 'I cannot represent you unless you get plastic surgery to make your eyes look bigger.'” Chen got support from her parents and went to "the one doctor in Los Angeles known for it."

Julie Chen admitted “I will say, after I had that done, the ball did roll for me. Which I struggle with. You know, wow. Did I give in to 'the man' and do this?”

The hosts of “The Talk” said she made the right decision, saying she looked “Fabulous!” “More expressive!” and assuring her that “It was the right thing to do.” Chen said "I want to show you a side by side of how dramatic the surgery really was. If you look at the after, the eyes are bigger, I look more alert, more expressive."

Sheryl Underwood gave Chen credit for “representing [her] people, [her] race, women, and [her] colleagues.”

Or was Chen correct when she said that she did it “for the man?” Did Chen sacrificed a part of herself to save another or did she do more good than she would have been able if she kept her look and remained in obscurity? Chen told her co-hosts "No one's more proud of being Chinese than I am." But when she says her eyelids had “too much fat” or “excess skin,” does it mask a deeper sense of hurt or some kind of self-loathing that many ethnics, regardless of their ethnicity, have for their race. Eye-widening surgery is not uncommon for Asians.

Earlier on the program Julie Chen said “My lifelong dream was to one day be a network news anchor.”

The 43-year-old Chinese-American Julie Chen has been married to CBS CEO Les Moonves since 2004.