Anna Marie Tendler’s memoir has little to say about John Mulaney. When the textile artist, 39, announced “Men Have Called Her Crazy” last March, many speculated the book would reveal the grimiest details of her divorce from the popular comedian. In 2021, Mulaney dominated headlines when his relationship with Olivia Munn (whom he recently married), was announced just days after his separation from Tendler went public.
Fans picked sides, flocking to apps like TikTok to voice their support for Tendler in the aftermath of what appeared to be a painful breakup. Tendler’s tell-all has more to do with the other men in her life, from her occasionally challenging father to a string of ex-flings and boyfriends. Over the course of 300 pages, Tendler recalls difficult moments in her life — most of which have been punctuated by contentious relationships with men — through the lens of a psychiatric hospital stay in early 2021.
Tendler is fully aware of her reputation as a recurring figure in some of Mulaney’s most famous stand-up sets, but she’s hopeful that readers who find her memoir walk away with a more complete sense of the woman behind the punchlines. “I’ve been incredibly lucky in that most of the people who are drawn to my artwork, or this book, already like my work,” Tendler said in an interview with the Star. “I never feel like I need to qualify my reputation, or make it clear that there’s this other side of me.
I think the people who know me already kin.