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 debateamong 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.
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?”
