Olivia Munn inadvertently sparked backlash from Ms. Rachel fans after she admitted to not letting her kids watch the popular YouTube star’s videos.
“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,” Munn, 44, told People of her young children, Malcolm, 3, and Mei, 8 months, in a June 2025 interview which has since been taken down online. “These kid shows drive me crazy.”
Munn’s comments quickly led to debate among Ms. Rachel fans, with some fellow moms claiming the actress was “selfish” for not considering the emotional needs and development of her children.
To make matters more complicated, Ms. Rachel, real name Rachel Accurso, responded to Munn’s interview by sharing that she’d rather headlines focus on her advocacy for children in war zones than a celebrity’s personal opinion of her.
So what started as a comment on children’s media then launched into a political tit-for-tat, which led Munn’s husband, John Mulaney, to enter the chat.
Below, catch up on everything that happened between Munn and Ms. Rachel:
Olivia Munn Says Shows Like ‘Ms. Rachel’ Make Her ‘Crazy’
In an interview with People, Munn said that she doesn’t let her son, Malcolm, and daughter, Mei, watch Ms. Rachel’s “Songs for Littles” videos. (Ms. Rachel’s YouTube and Netflix content is beloved by many parents and children as it famously helps with language development.)
“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,” she said. “Malcolm asked for Blue’s Clues [recently], and I don’t know who showed him Blue’s Clues, but they are on my s*** list now. I said, ‘Hell no. Not in my house.’”
Munn went on to say that the only show she and Mulaney, 42, consider showing at home is PBS’ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood as it helped Malcolm adjust to becoming a big brother. “’Daniel Tiger has a little sister, and we’d tell him, ‘There’s a baby sister coming,’’’ she said, adding that it was a “great program.”
Her comments immediately went viral, with Ms. Rachel fans and fellow moms criticizing her for being a “self-centered parent.”
“Limiting screen time is great! But making your kid only watch stuff you are interested in is weird and pretty self-centered parenting imo,” one person said on Reddit.
Another added, “So, she doesn’t want her kids to have access to age appropriate (educational in the case of my girl Ms. Rachel) programming just because it isn’t made for her, an adult?”
“What a miserable way to parent a child,” another user wrote. “I understand that there are some shows (Cocomelon is one) that are both annoying and do nothing to promote learning, but Ms. Rachel? Blue’s Clues?? Ma’am. Maybe you shouldn’t have had a kid if you didn’t want to actually raise that child and let them have childish interests. This is an extremely selfish take.”
Ms. Rachel Reacts to Olivia Munn’s Comments by Questioning Press Coverage
Ms. Rachel responded to Munn’s take by sharing her frustrations with press outlets highlighting her show vs. her political advocacy.
“WHO CARES?! 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!!!” she shared via Instagram alongside an image of two articles from Parents and People. “***Not against [Munn] at all and don’t care that she doesn’t want to watch the show — all my love to her and her family — disappointed in the outlets.”
She turned her social media comments off.
Olivia Munn Apologizes for Her Comments on Children’s Media
Soon after Ms. Rachel’s response, Munn shared a message via her Instagram Stories, writing, “To Ms. Rachel and her fans, I hear and respect the passion behind your support. I never anticipated the media would single out one small thing I said and distort it like they have.”
She added: “My comments were never meant to diminish the joy, comfort and impact she brings to so many families. Every parent understands the importance of finding meaningful programming that helps us connect with our kids. I don’t want something taken out of context to be a moment that steals even a minute of joy for anyone.”
Mom-shamers continued coming for Munn, however, despite her apology.
John Mulaney Enters the Chat and Defends Olivia Munn
Mulaney issued a statement via his Instagram Story as his wife’s comments continued to gain attention and spark backlash.
“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. “Because of this, my wife and my two kids are now receiving violent and threatening comments and messages in her DMs.”
Mulaney continued to call out the “absolutely insane” trolling, insisting that it “needs to stop.” He noted that the people sending the alleged threats are “so wildly out of line and so unhelpful to any conversation” being had about what’s going on in the world.
“You took a nothing comment to a dark and dangerous place,” he concluded. “This kind of behavior isn’t activism.”
Ms. Rachel Supports Olivia Munn and Her Family
Following Mulaney’s heartfelt plea, Ms. Rachel once again shared a post via Instagram on the matter.
“Please be kind to Olivia & her precious family,” she wrote. I don’t believe in hate, attacks or hurtful comments. As I said in my first post, this isn’t about her. It was that I scroll & see stories that don’t matter while seeing that children’s immeasurable suffering is being ignored — it breaks me.”
Ms. Rachel added that no feud exists between her and Munn and that they have “been in touch and we are both choosing kindness.”
“This isn’t happening but I also am not for canceling people who make mistakes. (She just shared an opinion which is fine.) We all make mistakes and struggle and misspeak and do beautiful, kind things because it’s hard to be a human. It’s really hard,” Ms. Rachel wrote alongside her post.
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