{"id":171254,"date":"2025-09-12T19:30:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T23:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/?p=171254"},"modified":"2025-09-12T19:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T23:31:10","slug":"olivia-munn-discusses-standing-up-for-oneself-and-maintaining-agency-in-compelling-new-bustle-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/headlineplanet.com\/home\/2025\/09\/12\/olivia-munn-discusses-standing-up-for-oneself-and-maintaining-agency-in-compelling-new-bustle-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Munn Discusses Standing Up For Oneself and Maintaining Agency In Compelling New Bustle Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

In dealing with anxiety, overcoming an abusive stepfather, facing judgment throughout her career, and surviving breast cancer, Olivia Munn has repeatedly witnessed the power of agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is why she declares her aversion to the phrase \u201ceverything happens for a reason\u201d in a powerful interview for Bustle\u2019s The Entertainers Issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>There\u2019s this expression that I have always hated,\u201d says Munn: \u201cEverything happens for a reason \u2026 There are some people who die very lonely. Some people who have a drug addiction, and relapse, and die in the middle of the street, in the middle of the night. Well, what was the reason? Not everything works out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Munn\u2019s quest to retain agency \u2013 whether that means overcoming anxiety, being willing to <\/span>let go<\/span><\/i> of certain things, setting her own parameters for her career as an actress, or refusing to hide from superficialities on the set of \u201cThe Newsroom\u201d \u2013 have defined what has been a successful career and a successful journey into motherhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, Munn notes in the new interview that the original \u201cNewsroom\u201d costume designer advised her to dress in frumpy clothing, noting \u201cyou don\u2019t want people to judge you, to think you\u2019re trying to flaunt anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLater, when Hope [Hanafin] came on as designer, I explained that I actually <\/span>wanted<\/span><\/i> people to judge me the second I walked on screen,\u201d shares Munn. \u201cI wanted them to make assumptions. And then, once I started speaking Sorkin\u2019s dialogue, to question why they\u2019d judged me in the first place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At times, agency can be about standing up for oneself. It can be about relentlessly standing up for what is right. It can manifest as being combative.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe way other people saw me \u2014 the names or labels they gave me \u2014 even if I fought back against them, they still ended up becoming part of my identity,\u201d reflects Munn on growing up as half-White, half-Asian. \u201cSo, a small part of my personality became a big part of my personality \u2014 which was the personality to fight, to not give a sh*t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But \u201cTo not give a sh*t,\u201d that last part, is critical. Because, in Munn\u2019s worldview, agency is not just about asserting oneself. It is about not letting others make you think you have to. It is about not letting others make you feel as if you have to explain every decision, or accept every label.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last 15 years, I\u2019ve really tried to be a better person and tried to stand up for what I think is right. And it\u2019s something that I continue to do. But I\u2019m a much calmer person now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the engaging interview, Munn also talks about her husband John Mulaney, her life as a mother, her experience overcoming breast cancer, and her return to acting in Apple TV+\u2019s \u201cYour Friends and Neighbors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The full story is available here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The interview touches on growing up, rising through the entertainment space, becoming a mother, overcoming breast cancer, and more.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1048],"tags":[3420],"adace-sponsor":[],"yoast_head":"\nOlivia Munn Discusses Standing Up For Oneself and Maintaining Agency In Compelling New Bustle Interview<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In dealing with anxiety, overcoming an abusive stepfather, facing judgment throughout her career, and surviving breast cancer, Olivia Munn has repeatedly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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