Olivia Munn has revealed that she once turned down an offer of over a million dollars to remain silent about a traumatic experience on a movie set.
In a conversation with Monica Lewinsky on the latest episode of her podcast Reclaiming, Munn shared her story without disclosing the specifics of the incident or the film involved.
She mentioned that this occurred around the start of the #MeToo movement, which gained momentum in 2017.
Munn described the situation as deeply troubling, stating, “There were things that happened on this movie set, personally to me, that were really not OK and it was so traumatic that I had to file complaints with the studio.”
She explained that she was offered a significant sum—seven figures—as an apology, but it came with a non-disclosure agreement NDA.
“Not that I would ever have talked about it, truly, because I just wanted to move past it all,” she emphasized.
However, she refused to sign the NDA, feeling it was wrong, especially during the early days of #MeToo when signing such agreements was being criticized.
Munn expressed concern that signing the NDA could undermine her experience and feared the studio might leak information to diminish her voice.
Munn shared that her lawyer advised her to take some time to consider the offer, but she was adamant about her choice and wanted to communicate her decision to the opposing legal team herself.
“One person told me, ‘This is a lot of money, you’d be crazy not to take this,’” she recalled. “I responded, ‘I know this is a lot of money to you, but it’s not worth losing my voice.’ I walked out of there feeling incredibly proud.”
However, she added with a laugh, there was an unexpected twist: “Shortly after that, California made NDAs illegal,” meaning that if she had accepted the deal, it wouldn’t have been enforceable anyway.
While Munn didn’t express regret over her decision, she acknowledged, “It’s not that I wouldn’t have arrived at the same conclusion, but I made that choice out of anger. That’s something I’ve had to learn to manage and channel positively. I’ve learned to take my time and discuss things thoroughly.”
Munn has been vocal about incidents of misconduct on set.
In 2017, she was one of six women who accused director Brett Ratner of sexual harassment, claiming that Ratner masturbated in front of her during her visit to the set of his 2004 film After the Sunset.
Additionally, while filming the 2018 movie Predators, Munn raised concerns with 20th Century Fox about having to work alongside a registered sex offender who was a longtime friend of director Shane Black.
Olekanma Favour is a resourceful, self-motivated, and result-driven writer with a passion for crafting compelling narratives and insightful content. She loves tackling complex topics and weaving engaging stories.
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