Ms. Rachel is back!
Rachel Griffin Accurso, known on her “Songs for Littles” YouTube channel as Ms. Rachel, returned to TikTok on March 6 with her first update in a week.
“I’m back after a short break,” Accurso says as the video begins.
And this time, the overalls are off.
Accurso announced Feb. 27 that she would be taking a break from social media for her mental health. Upon her return to TikTok, the preschool teacher turned YouTube star did away with her signature look—a pink shirt with denim overalls, a ponytail and headband— and instead dawned a pink and white checkered top, with her hair down.
@msrachelforlittles Love > fear #msrachel #msrachelsongforlittes #selfcare ♬ original sound – Ms Rachel
“I was able to spend some time thinking about setting social media boundaries for myself, which is a good practice for a lot of people,” Accurso says in the short clip. “And with social media boundaries, you figure out ways to protect yourself and you recognize, ‘Oh when I do this, I don’t feel so good and so I’m going to do less of this.’
“And it’s a good way to practice self-care, which is very important,” she continues, “but I am here to serve children and their families every day and to share the love and kindness that we want to see reflected in the world. And thank you so much for all the love.”
A celebrity to toddlers, and a hero to many parents, Ms. Rachel has risen to popularity for her low-tech, educational show for babies and toddlers that is being praised by educators and those in the speech and language communities.
But despite this angel of a woman single-handedly raising millions of kids around the world through her videos, TikTok trolls have been working just as hard to steal Ms. Rachel’s joy.
The Target of Internet Trolls
“I’m taking a break from TikTok for my mental health,” Ms. Rachel sang in her video on Feb. 27.
“Hurtful videos and comments, no matter how much attention they get, will not bring you what you want. Only love can do that,” she captioned the video, which has since been viewed over 10 million times.
“WHO HURT YOU???” one commenter wrote. “Hold my earrings, lemme get my keys. We ride at dawn!”
Others echoed the sentiment:
“We need name’s please. No one messes with our co-parent.”
Although Ms. Rachel has not directly identified the source of harm and stress, it’s likely that she’s referring to a series of videos posted by moms who identify as “conservative” or “traditional,” who have recently taken issue with the fact that one of Ms. Rachel’s co-stars, Jules Hoffman, uses they/them pronouns.
Hoffman, who has appeared alongside Ms. Rachel on “Songs for Littles” for three years, identifies as they/them, according to their TikTok page and their biography on the “Songs for Littles” website.
Hoffman’s use of they/them pronouns was recently highlighted in a TikTok posted by a “stay at home, homeschool mom,” who posted a video with the caption, “When miss Rachel introduces they/them/their pronouns so you have to stop watching her.”
The video generated thousands of comments from all sides, sparking widespread debate, with many blindly “cancelling” Ms. Rachel based solely on this user’s hateful video.
Many commenters noted they had not seen the topic addressed on the YouTube show, only on Hoffman’s personal TikTok page.
“We’re not cancelling Ms. Rachel in this Christian household,” wrote one user, who noted there are “no conversations about Jules’ gender identity” on the show.
Another noted that Ms. Rachel doesn’t teach personal pronouns in any of her videos.
