The Shady Side Of Olivia Munn
Olivia Munn went from being the geek-boy fantasy girl on Attack of the Show to a bona fide actress with credits like HBO's The Newsroom, Magic Mike, and X-Men: Apocalypse. Along the way, she's made headlines with everything from questionable romances to on-set drama to plastic surgery rumors. Let's take a look at the shady side of America's former nerd goddess.
Did she have an affair with Justin Timberlake?
In October 2010, Us Weekly reported that Justin Timberlake and Olivia Munn had "a three-day fling," during which they were "openly affectionate" and had "amazing sex," according to a supposed insider. Of course, this was problematic, because Timberlake was in a long-term relationship with his now-wife, Jessica Biel, at the time. A rep for Timberlake "strongly denied" the accusation, while Munn stayed mum on the whole thing.
A few months later, Life & Style (via HuffPost) ran another story about Timberlake and Munn creeping on the side, but this time just via text. Supposedly, Timberlake was trying to convince Munn that it was over between him and Biel, and according to a source, Munn was receptive. "She's super flattered," the source told Life & Style, "but she's not stupid. She's not expecting it to go anywhere – but she'd love it if it did!" Obviously, this is all just hearsay, but if even any of it is true, for shame on the both of them.
Did she move on from Joel Kinnaman a little too fast?
Not long after her alleged affair with the "SexyBack" singer, Munn met and began dating House of Cards star Joel Kinnaman. Their relationship lasted around two years until their split was announced in late April 2014. "They ended things a few months ago but both seem fine," a source told Us Weekly.
Fast forward two weeks and Munn was spotted on a date with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, "where they laughed with friends and stole kisses throughout the meal." Though Munn and Kinnaman were said to have "been able to stay really good friends even through the breakup," it's easy to see how shady it looks for the one-two punch headlines of their break-up, and Munn's moving on happening so close together.
Her relationship with Aaron Rodgers supposedly drove a wedge in his family
In November 2016, Bleacher Report printed the bombshell claim from an unnamed source that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers "has not spoken to his family since December 2014." The source also alleged that Rodgers had sent back Christmas gifts from his parents, blown off a hometown friend's wedding in which he was supposed to be a groomsmen, and even failed to attend his grandfather's funeral.
It didn't take a math whiz to figure out that the timing of the start of Rodgers relationship with Munn, reported by People as "at the end of 2014," lined up directly with his supposed family strife. Rodger's father, Ed Rodgers, even seemingly confirmed the overlap by describing the Bleacher Report article as "accurate" in a somber interview with The New York Times during which he also said, "Fame can change things."
The "fame" comment had to be a clear reference to Aaron's sudden appearance all over Hollywood while accompanying his famous actress girlfriend. After all, Aaron was already a star in his own right, having led Green Bay to a Super Bowl win in 2011, but that kind of fame never bothered the Rodgers clan for some reason.
She threw some low-key shade at the Rodgers family
Both Munn and Rodgers staunchly committed to never talking about Rodger's family issues in public, but Munn couldn't help leaving a trail of social media clues as to how she really felt about the situation.
In perhaps the shadiest of all maneuvers, Munn resorted to "liking" comments on her Instagram (via screencaps by Terez Owens) that were written by fans who cast some side-eye on Rodgers' family. "This team looked like a family this season- & Aaron Rodgers had a great year, thank you for being his biggest supporter after his family cause so much negative distractions. Enjoy the off season," one of the comments read. "Thank you for standing by Aaron when his own family sold stories to the media in the recent weeks and tried very hard to wreck his momentum. He is lucky to have found you. Real love is a gift," read another.
Is it a crime to acknowledge a compliment? Certainly not. Is it another thing entirely when that compliment is a passive-aggressive dig at your boyfriend's family, with whom he is desperately trying not to publicly feud? Definitely.
There were bad reports about her from the set of The Newsroom
Landing the gig as Sloan Sabbith on HBO's The Newsroom was a big break for Munn. It was her first recurring role on a show that anyone had actually heard of, and if on-set sources are to be believed, the newfound fame seemed to go to her head a little.
According to a source speaking with Radar Online, which yes, is an immediate red flag, but hear us out, Munn "caused conflict by overstepping the boundaries between the actors and writers." The source claims that tensions between Munn, showrunner Aaron Sorkin, and star Jeff Daniels ran so high that "by the end of the long shoot, Aaron and Jeff were barely speaking to her."
Sorkin defended Munn against the accusation, describing her to E! News as "a perfect cast member who is loved and respected by the entire cast, by the crew and the producers, by HBO and especially by me." But Munn may have actually done herself in on this one, as she relayed an anecdote to HuffPost about conflicts she had with show directors that doesn't exactly paint her in the best light. Claiming she pushed back on direction to make her character "take the girly route" and "smile and smirk," Munn recalled an instance when a director tried to advise her that maybe she "didn't realize how she was coming off," and that her character seemed "aggressive."
"I go 'Great! That's exactly what I wanted,' and that was it!'" Munn replied. Yikes. Not sure if we agree that that particular director "loved and respected" Munn that day.
The time she "Kanye'd" Taylor Swift at The People's Choice Awards
In truly cringe-worthy attempt at a joke, Munn tried to parody Kanye West's infamous "I'mma let you finish" moment when presenting Taylor Swift with the Favorite Country Artist award at the 2013 People's Choice Awards. As Swift approaches the microphone, Munn awkwardly blocks her way and says, "If you want to thank me first, it makes the most sense."
Swift tries to be a good sport, taking her trophy and saying, "Yes, you first." Which would have still been awkward if it ended there, but Munn kept the schtick going by grabbing the trophy back from Swift, who says, "This always happens," and again saves the moment. Only Munn keeps going, stepping all over any chance at comedy by saying, "And it will always happen, Taylor. This is your lot in life." At this point, Swift is literally just standing there, looking down at the stage when Munn finally gives her the trophy back and says, "No, I'm not gonna be this person." Sorry, Munn, but you definitely just became that person.
She posed for PETA…and Carl's Jr.
Olivia Munn has posed for PETA multiple times, taking it all off for both their "Boycott The Circus" and "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaigns. Citing her concerns with the alleged animal cruelty of the circus' training methods, as well as the violent methods by which animals are killed when they're harvested for their fur, Munn has been outspoken as an animal advocate.
But she apparently has no issue with the factory farming methods used to create fast food burgers like the ones served at Carl's Jr., the company Munn advertised for by wearing a bikini and riding a jetski. It's odd, because PETA certainly objects to the practices, and while we suppose it's true that you can be opposed to animal cruelty and still eat meat, it's hard to deny that the animals killed for their fur are treated much differently than the ones killed for the meat.
She has a weird defense against plastic surgery claims
In an April 2016 interview with Fashion Magazine, Munn addressed the long-standing speculation that she's had plastic surgery on her face. Citing her multi-ethnic heritage—she's half Chinese and half Caucasian—Munn said it creates "a whole set of complications that people don't even think about when it comes to being photographed." She also said that depending on how her makeup is applied, she can look "completely different" week to week.
That's all reasonable, right? Well, hang on a second, because in an interview with The Cut, Munn also contributed the tightness of her skin and lack of wrinkles to eating Japanese potatoes. Yes, you read that right. According to Munn, these Far East tubers are "high in hyaluronic acid," which helps to "carry water to skin and prevent joints from getting rickety or hurting." She also claimed that after months of eating a few potatoes a day, she no longer got pillow creases on her face after sleeping all night.
Has anyone run this by Dr. Oz? We'd guess he's got a goji berry tea extract that would pair perfectly with Munn's magic face potatoes.