Olivia Munn says male director tried to kill her career over on-set dispute

Olivia Munn is speaking out about a troubling chapter from her time on HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’, revealing that one of the show’s directors tried to sabotage her career over creative differences.

In a candid conversation on ‘Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard’, Munn detailed a tense working relationship with a male director on the show, where she played financial analyst Sloan Sabbith.

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According to the actor, things turned sour when the two disagreed over how her character’s romantic storyline with Don Keefer (played by Thomas Sadoski) should play out.

“There was this one director who came in multiple times,” Olivia Munn shared on the podcast. “He kept pushing me to lean into the romance part of the storyline to show more emotion, to flirt, to kiss him, to smile at him, even in the middle of work scenes. And I pushed back.”

Munn said she found the suggestions forced and inconsistent with who Sloan Sabbith was a sharp, focused professional. “I’d ask, ‘Why would she do that here? She’s working.’ And he’d say, ‘Can’t you just flirt a little?’ It didn’t sit right with me.”

After that, the director allegedly complained about her to the producers, painting her as “forceful.” Munn believes this label stuck, even though she was simply advocating for her character.

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The fallout, she said, didn’t end with ‘The Newsroom’. A few years later, while in final talks for a major movie role, Munn’s past came back to haunt her.

“I was basically locked in for a new film when my manager called and said, ‘You’re getting the part, but there’s been some hesitation.’ Apparently, another director, who knew the filmmakers, told them I was ‘always late and combative’ on ‘The Newsroom’ set,” she recounted.

Munn was shocked. “I lived seven minutes from the studio. I was never late. And I knew exactly who was behind it,” she said. “He was just trying to kill my chances because we didn’t see eye-to-eye on the show.”

Despite the attempt to undercut her, Munn got the part. Still, the experience has stuck with her as an example of how easily creative disagreements can lead to damaging professional gossip, especially for women in the industry.

“It’s wild that because I stood up for how I saw my character. Someone tried to make sure I didn’t get more work,” she said. “I’ll never forget that.”