John Mulaney is not staying silent after his wife, Olivia Munn, was dragged into unexpected controversy over a comment about popular YouTuber Ms. Rachel, and now, it’s gone way too far.
The comedian is defending Munn after she started receiving violent and threatening messages, including those aimed at their children, following her remarks about not watching Ms. Rachel’s content with their kids.
In a June 11 Instagram Story, Mulaney shared that a completely innocent statement Munn made during an interview got twisted into something dangerous and untrue. “An innocent comment my wife Olivia Munn made about what children’s programs we like has somehow unbelievably been conflated with not caring about the deaths of children in Gaza,” he wrote.
The backlash started after Munn’s June 8 interview with People, where she said she doesn’t let her children, three-year-old Malcolm and eight-month-old Méi, watch Ms. Rachel’s YouTube videos. “I know kids love [Ms. Rachel],” she said, “but the thing is, if I can’t watch it, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life going crazy. These kids’ shows drive me crazy.” It was a light-hearted take any parent could relate to, but some people took it way too far.
Mulaney revealed that Munn has been bombarded with “violent and threatening comments and messages” directed at not just her, but also their two young kids. “The people doing this are so wildly out of line and so unhelpful to any conversation,” he continued. “You took a nothing comment to a dark and dangerous place. This kind of behavior isn’t activism.”
Let’s be real, Munn’s comment was not some political dig. It was just a mom admitting she can’t stand certain children’s programming. But because Ms. Rachel (real name: Rachel Griffin Accurso) has been publicly vocal about her support for humanitarian aid in Gaza, some critics tried to frame Munn’s parenting preference as a statement against Gaza. That’s a massive reach.
To her credit, Ms. Rachel herself tried to calm things down. She responded to the headlines on June 9, posting a comment that said, “I’d rather you cover my advocacy for kids in Gaza.” She made it clear there was no beef, adding that she doesn’t “care that [Olivia] doesn’t want to watch the show” and even sent “all my love to her and her family.” Classy response.
After things got increasingly hostile online, Munn released her own statement on June 10 via Instagram Stories. She admitted she never expected such backlash and clarified that her words were never intended to take away from Ms. Rachel’s impact. “My comments were never meant to diminish the joy, comfort, and impact she brings to so many families,” she wrote. “I don’t want something taken out of context to be a moment that steals even a minute of joy for anyone.”
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. What started as a casual parenting take became a storm of online hate, with strangers sending aggressive messages to a mom of two, over a show her kids simply don’t watch.
Here’s the thing: not liking a show doesn’t mean you’re attacking the person who made it or their values. Olivia didn’t insult Ms. Rachel, and she definitely didn’t make any political statements. But thanks to social media’s tendency to twist and amplify, one quote turned into chaos. And now it’s impacted not just Olivia, but her family, including her kids, who are far too young to be caught up in internet drama.
John Mulaney’s public support sends a strong message: enough is enough. You don’t have to agree with every celebrity’s parenting choice, but threatening them and their children crosses a line, plain and simple.
This situation should be a wake-up call about the internet’s outrage machine. We can, and should, hold public figures accountable when they say something genuinely harmful. But in this case, that’s not what happened. Olivia Munn shared a very normal, very relatable opinion about children’s TV. The fact that it spiraled into threats and misinformation says more about us than it does about her.
So maybe it’s time to take a breath before turning every celebrity soundbite into a battleground. Parenting is hard enough without getting canceled over which YouTube channel your toddler watches.
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