Why Olivia Munn is an Evil Genius

Olivia Munn and I have sort of a love/hate relationship. On one hand, I feel like she’s a complete attention slut (that’s one step beyond whore), and will do anything to further her public profile. This was best demonstrated by an episode of Attack of the Show where she literally jumped into a giant pie wearing a maid outfit because she lost a bet or it was the Fourth of July or some other inane reason to combine maids with pies.

On the other hand, I have to respect her, as I think she’s an absolute genius.  I can’t believe that she’s one of only a handful of hot women in the world who have figured out the beautiful simplicity of combining a “hot woman” and a “nerd,” and no one has done it better than Olivia. Her propensity to play dress up in sci-fi/video game costumes has landed her smack in the fantasies of millions of male geeks across the world, and when she spouts apparent wisdom about the video game industry, it turns the dial up to eleven.

By no means do I think she’s a legitimate example of a “hot nerd” (for that, see Kristen Bell or Felicia Day), and I think she’s horrendously exploitative, but she’s smart about it. She’s gone a step beyond the booth babe, whose only job is to stand around looking pretty in aforementioned costumes, as she’s done her research thoroughly. She’s read blogs, she’s played Halo, and now she’s the country’s resident girl gamer, and even though it should be pretty obvious it’s all a facade, we’ve all bought it hook, line and sinker, and Munn has become an icon to the nerd masses, just by figuring it all out first.

I expect this trend to continue, as more and more pretty ladies with a half a brain start to figure out the benefits of mass nerd appeal. G4 and SpikeTV have a stable of girls ready to be the next Munn, but no one has gone to the same extent as her, total devotion to the craft.

So Olivia, even though I think you’re a fraud, and give real girl nerds everywhere a shit time by convincing males that women like you actually exist, I think you’re one of the smartest women on TV today. Keep doing what you’re doing for as long as it works.

Now because I lost a bet or it’s the Fourth of July or something, here’s a gallery of every picture I could ever find of Olivia Munn dressing up in costume.

On Attack of the Show

At this year’s Comic Con

At last year’s Comic Con (I think)

In a photoshoot for Complex

The infamous pie-jumping-in-a-maid-outfit-because-she-lost-some-sort-of-bet-or-something-like-that skit that made me love and loathe her at the same time.

And one more for you

Now leave with that image and forget the rest.