What's the Deal with the Nonsense Between Olivia Munn and Ms. Rachel?

Olivia Munn is a successful actress married to comedian John Mulaney, with whom she has two children. In 2023, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and underwent five surgeries, including a double mastectomy. Since then, she has used her platform to raise awareness about the importance of early detection.

Ms. Rachel is a beloved children’s television entertainer whose streaming program is among the most popular in the genre. She uses her platform to raise awareness about the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, especially the tens of thousands of children suffering and dying from starvation.

Recently, in a PEOPLE Magazine interview, Olivia Munn shared that she’s not a fan of children’s television, name-checking Ms. Rachel, among others. “I know kids love [Ms. Rachel], but the thing is, if I can’t watch it, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life going crazy … These kid shows drive me crazy.” The comment had nothing to do with Gaza. It wasn’t even particularly about Ms. Rachel — she was mentioned as one example. Munn also cited Blue’s Clues, joking that whoever introduced her child to that show is “on my sh*t list.”

Internet headlines, eager for clicks, tried to gin up outrage by suggesting a feud between Olivia Munn and Ms. Rachel. In response to a flood of misleading stories, Ms. Rachel took to Instagram to call out the manufactured controversy and urged media outlets to focus on the real crisis: the suffering of children in Gaza.

Alongside screenshots of sensational headlines, Ms. Rachel wrote on Instagram: “WHO CARES?!” referring to the supposed drama over Munn’s parenting preferences. “I’d rather you cover me advocating for kids in Gaza who are literally starving, largest cohort of child amputees in modern history, thousands & thousands killed - no medical care, no education, no homes … do better!!!”

Unfortunately, some corners of the Internet twisted her post to suggest that Olivia Munn, by saying she doesn’t let her kids watch children’s television, was somehow indifferent to the plight of children in Gaza. It was an absurd leap, and one that had real-world consequences. Munn soon began receiving death threats in her DMs, targeting both her and her children.

All because she said she didn’t enjoy children’s television. Ms. Rachel, recognizing how out of hand things had gotten, clarified that she was never calling out Olivia Munn. “Not against her at all … all my love to her and her family—disappointed in the outlets.” Munn, meanwhile, stated that her comments were taken out of context (and the PEOPLE magazine article has since been removed).

John Mulaney later took to Instagram in an attempt to calm a situation that never should have escalated in the first place.

Increasingly, sanity has become a scarce resource on the Internet. Besides, everyone knows that the real villain here is and always has been that whiny monster, Calliou.