Olivia Munn Had Health Problems After Speaking Out About Sexual Assault in Hollywood

Olivia Munn is working on her health after stress took its toll on her body.

The actress, 38, said that frustrations during the last two years stemming from the sexual harassment cases in Hollywood — Munn was part of accusations of assault and sexual harassment against director Brett Ratner in 2017, and had to defend herself in 2018 after learning that she had been in scenes with a registered sex offender in The Predator — left her with a full-body rash that doctors couldn’t figure out at first.

They initially thought Munn had lupus, but later determined that the rash was due to stress, which she said had to do with her concern over the direction of the Time’s Up movement.

“One of the things that stresses me out more than anything, is how do we do right by [the people who spoke out]?” she said to Women’s Health for their July cover story. “It’s infuriating. We can’t tell stories about people and then not care about them. You can pretend to be a real-life hero in movies and TV shows and on Instagram, but the real advocates are the ones who stand beside the people who make a difference in the world.”

With the source of the rash now known, Munn is working on her overall health. She’s into alternative therapies, like infrared-heated crystal mats, magnet therapy and ancient Chinese healing techniques, but there’s one form of self-care that she just can’t get into.

“I tried so hard [to meditate] for years,” she admitted. “The tough thing for me about meditating is thinking, Am I doing it right? Did I do this for nothing? Do I have to start all over? My brain begins to spin.”

But Munn does love martial arts, which she started doing as a kid and rediscovered in 2015 when she filmed X-Men. At that point, she was training regularly in tae kwon do and following a strict diet — 80 percent raw foods and limited complex carbs and meat — which she plans to do again now that her schedule has slowed down.

“When you do martial arts, it makes you feel like you’re physically capable of anything,” she said. “And the great side effect is that when you’re in your best shape, you actually will look your best too.”

It also appeals to her competitive side, which Munn said comes out when she’s working toward something like a new movie.

“As much as I care about looking and feeling my best, it’s not enough of a motivation for me,” she said. “I need a goal of accomplishing something.”