Children’s entertainer and YouTube creator Ms. Rachel has issued a tearful apology after her Instagram account appeared to “like” an antisemitic comment that read “Free America from the Jews,” prompting backlash from some followers and renewed scrutiny of her online activity.
Rachel Griffin Accurso, who performs online as Ms. Rachel and produces educational music and language-development videos for toddlers and pre-school children, said the interaction was accidental and occurred while she was trying to remove the comment from her page.
The controversy centred on a comment left beneath one of Accurso’s posts. Screenshots shared by social media users showed the account associated with her “liking” the message, which remained visible for a period before it was removed.
In a video apology referenced by multiple outlets, Accurso said she believed she was deleting the comment, but selected the wrong option. “So I thought I deleted a comment, but I actually hit like and hide,” she said, according to UNILAD’s account of the video.
She also sought to distance herself from the content of the comment, describing it as antisemitic and saying she does not endorse such views. “I would never agree with an antisemitic thing like the comment,” she said, adding: “We have Jewish family, a lot of my friends are Jewish.”
Accurso apologised for the confusion and said the incident had become an example of how quickly online mistakes can escalate. “I feel like we can’t be human anymore online,” she said, according to both the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s write-up and The Jerusalem Post’s summary of her remarks.
In the same explanation, she described accidental taps and unintended interactions as something she has experienced before. “I’ve accidentally liked comments before. It happens,” she said, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement. She added: “I’m old, so I am not as good with touching things online.”
UNILAD reported that Accurso became emotional while addressing the controversy, saying: “I’m so sorry if anyone thought that I would ever agree with something so horrible and antisemitic like that. I don’t.”
The Jerusalem Post reported additional context around the episode, including an exchange in the comments beneath her apology post. It said that an account wrote, “Spoiler alert: They left the comment themselves,” and that Accurso replied, “Ooooooooooohhhhh,” before the reply was later deleted.
Accurso is one of the most recognisable names in modern children’s online entertainment, with her “Songs for Littles” videos becoming a staple for many families during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Her content is designed around early speech development, social-emotional learning, and basic routines, often delivered through songs, repetition and direct-to-camera interaction.
Her prominence has extended beyond YouTube into partnerships and wider children’s media, and her public statements on humanitarian issues have also attracted attention and criticism in recent years.
UNILAD said the comment appeared beneath a post in which Accurso called for the “liberation” of people affected by multiple conflicts, and that the screenshot of the “like” prompted some followers to question her directly. The outlet reported that after she was alerted to the situation, the comment was deleted and an explanatory post was shared, before she followed up with the tearful video apology.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement said the comment remained visible for several hours after the “like” registered, and was later removed. It framed Accurso’s response as an explanation that the “like” was a mistake rather than an endorsement.
Accurso’s apology attempted to draw a clear line between her stated values and the antisemitic message. “I delete antisemitic comments,” she said, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s account of the video.
The Jerusalem Post quoted her as saying she believed she had already removed the comment, adding: “I have proof because yesterday somebody messaged me. There was a comment that said that. So I said, yes, I saw that, and I deleted it because that’s what I thought happened.”
She also described how she learned the issue had escalated online. “That was yesterday. My husband said…look what I found that people are posting. And I was like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I thought I deleted that,” she was quoted as saying.
UNILAD reported that many followers responded by expressing support and suggesting the interaction was an obvious mistake, including one commenter quoted by the outlet as writing: “Do not be broken up over it. As a Jew who follows you, I wouldn’t have thought for a second that you meant to do it on purpose. Not a single second. Not even a millisecond.”
The incident highlights the sensitivity around online interactions by public figures whose work reaches large audiences, especially when hateful language appears in replies and comment threads. In Accurso’s case, the episode unfolded in full view of her social media following, with screenshots and reposts circulating before the comment was removed and her explanation posted.