When it comes to complicating kids’ joy, there’s nothing like a bit of celebrity drama — and according to Ms. Rachel, this is nothing like celebrity drama.

If you believe the most feverish headlines and viral shares, actress Olivia Munn and kiddie entertainer Rachel Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel, are firing off attacks at one another over topics ranging from humanitarian support in Gaza to the quality of children’s shows.

The true story is, at its base, much milder and less dramatic, but now others are piling on with unwarranted attacks.

Olivia Munn’s commentary was about Ms. Rachel’s programming, not about the presenter herself.

She essentially said that she dislikes most children’s shows and won’t allow them in her house, except for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. She mentioned some shows by name, including Ms. Rachel, Blue’s Clues, and Spider-Man.

Boiled down to that, most of us can empathize to varying degrees. I think almost every mom reading right now can think of a show or song her kids like, but that she finds too grating to bear.

Most of us grimace and bear it anyway, because, wow, washing dishes without having your legs tugged is shockingly peaceful, or we buy headphones or gently redirect to the shows we prefer. It doesn’t make headlines, and most likely, neither parent nor child is permanently scarred.

Munn’s opinions differ in a few important aspects: first, she’s a celebrity, so we all heard them; second, she mentioned by name an entertainer who is highly beloved by kids and parents alike; and third, one vague headline may have left some viewers believing that her opinion was focused on Ms. Rachel personally.

Ms. Rachel has been very open about her feelings regarding Israel and Palestine.

Her social media bears testament that she is for the safety and wellbeing of all innocents. She’s spoken for murdered Israeli embassy workers, and for starving children in Gaza. She has stated that she’s against all hate, including antisemitism, anti-Palestinian hate, anti-Muslin hate, and others.

However, it’s also clear that she specifically has a heart for the children, the most innocent people in any conflict, and the people her work and life is focused on.

So, when people started attacking Munn for her comments, Ms. Rachel expressed that she didn’t think this type of headline was productive — she’d rather the media be focused on starving and dying children, not celebrity opinions of her show.

To be clear, her post was not about Munn, but about the publication’s focus. That post has since been deleted, but according to US, it read:

“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!!!…***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.”

Munn also responded via Instagram, saying that the media had focused on “one small thing” she said, and distorted it out of proportion.

She said that she never intended for her opinions to take away a moment of joy from anyone else, and that every family has to find the balance of programming that works for their household. She emphasized that she recognizes “the joy, comfort and impact [Ms. Rachel] brings to so many families.”

In fact, it appears that the publication has also acknowledged that this was not an effective way to frame Munn’s interview and has since removed the post focused on Ms. Rachel.

Somehow, this became further distorted, with some folks appearing to interpret Ms. Rachel’s response as an indication that Munn didn’t care about kids in Gaza.

Again, it cannot be emphasized enough that Ms. Rachel did not express anything about Munn’s views on Gaza; she opined that the media would be better focused on kids’ suffering than on a celebrity’s opinion on her show.

Some of them became irate enough to start sending threats to Munn and her family. (Not, apparently, irate enough to dig for the actual story, though.)

Munn and her husband, John Mulaney, have two children, both under age 5 (a boy born in 2021 and a girl born this past September), and Mulaney has come forward to address the threats. According to E!, he wrote:

“The people doing this are so wildly out of line and so unhelpful to any conversation. You took a nothing comment to a dark and dangerous place. This kind of behavior isn’t activism.”

Ms Rachel has released another statement through social media, again emphasizing that there is no feud between the two women, that the imaginary conflict was exaggerated for dramatic effect, and that she doesn’t approve of the attacks.

She wrote:

“Please be kind to Olivia and her precious family. I don’t believe in hate, attacks, or hurtful comments.

As I said in my first post, this isn’t about her. It’s that I scroll and see stories that don’t matter while seeing that children’s immeasurable suffering is being ignored — it breaks me.

And I know that some outlets would love to cover a feud between two women but guess what? That doesn’t exist. Her and I have been in contact and we are both choosing kindness.”

Ms. Rachel’s choice was to advocate for attention to children’s needs instead of to boost a dramatic story of a non-existent conflict.

Munn made a casual comment in an interview about disliking Ms. Rachel’s show, along with most other children’s programming.

Many parents have strong feelings about Munn’s casual comments and have opined that limiting kids’ viewing to shows the parent enjoys is selfish, or that speaking negatively about Ms. Rachel is unkind. (Let’s be honest, she’s gotten some of us through some rough times, and moms can be very defensive.)

But neither set out to attack the other, and neither wants us to pick ‘sides’ and join in unnecessary attacks. Ms. Rachel says they’re both “choosing kindness,” and honestly, we could all do a little more of that.