“It’s good to criticise governments for violating children’s rights. It’s something that everyone should be doing. Because we’re the grownups of this world and we’re meant to keep children safe. And the fact that we are not is horrific” Ms Rachel, the queen of toddler TV- Her preschool fanbase are, of course, unaware of any of her politics, and they cannot get enough of her.

Ms Rachel: ‘All my experiences have led me to knowing that we should take care of each other.’ Photograph: Joanna McGowan/The Guardian

Educational TV

Interview    Sun 20 Sep 2026  

Ms Rachel, the controversial queen of toddler TV: ‘My goal isn’t to be the most liked. It’s to help kids and speak the truth’

Sophie McBain

Her catchy videos have racked up billions of views, but Rachel Accurso’s statements on everything from Gaza to LGBTQ rights have caused a stir. She talks about screen time, song fatigue and speculation she might enter politics

The YouTube star Ms Rachel, toddler whisperer extraordinaire, spots me before I clock her, and even from a distance and without her trademark pink T-shirt and denim dungarees, she is instantly recognisable by her wave, which is accompanied by an enthusiastic bounce. I half expect her to say, “Hi, friends”, as she does at the start of many of her videos. Instead she bounds over, wearing a classic off-duty mum uniform – Sesame Street sweatshirt, grey leggings, baseball cap that reads “Mama” – and removes her oversized sunglasses. She’s very sorry, she says, rubbing her eyes, that she is so tired – but her manner remains unfailingly, characteristically peppy.

It is only seven years since Rachel Accurso, who used to be a preschool music teacher, uploaded her first video to YouTube, a counting song for preschoolers called Bubble, Bubble Pop!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi4AV2S4xA0 . She and her husband, Aron Accurso, who worked as a music director on Broadway, made the video because their one-year-old son had a speech delay and there seemed to be a dearth of quality videos online that could help toddlers learn to speak.

Nowadays, the Ms Rachel YouTube channel has more than 21 million followers, and since she signed with Netflix in 2025, the series has been streamed more than 69m times, becoming the highest-ranked new kids’ TV show. You can buy Ms Rachel dolls, rattles, talking toy phones, books and pyjamas. The couple are releasing their first album this month.

Ms Rachel, who is 43 and has a 17-month-old daughter, Susannah, as well as her eight-year-old son, Thomas, has also amassed a huge following on Instagram (5.5 million) and TikTok (11 million), where the mums of her superfans congregate, and where she cuts a more controversial figure, having become a vocal opponent of the Israeli government over its war in Gaza, and a campaigner on other humanitarian issues, such as family immigration detention centres in the US and the war in Sudan... READ MORE 

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/sep/20/ms-rachel-the-queen-of-toddler-tv-interview 

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies here, there- and everywhere] 

After calling for a free Palestine in her Emmys acceptance speech, the Hacks star said ‘I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel’- Hannah Einbinder and Javier Bardem among Emmy stars to call for Gaza ceasefire

Alyx Gorman and Sian Cain

Mon 15 Sep 2025 00.04 EDT 

The Guardian

Television’s biggest stars have used this year’s Emmy awards to speak out against Israel’s war in Gaza, either through fashion on the red carpet or fiery acceptance speeches.

Hacks actor Hannah Einbinder, who won best supporting actress in a comedy, wore a red Artists4Ceasefire pin, as did White Lotus stars Aimee Lou Wall and Natasha Rothwell, Ruth Negga of Presumed Innocent and Chris Perfetti from Abbott Elementary.

The pin asks that the US government call for an “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost”.

Spanish actor Javier Bardem, nominated this year for his performance in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, wore a keffiyeh to the Emmys, and said on the red carpet that he “cannot work with someone who justifies or supports the genocide”, while Hacks actor Megan Stalter wore a purse with “Ceasefire!” written on it in marker.

Ending her acceptance speech, Einbinder said: “Go birds, fuck Ice and free Palestine,” just before the music played her out.

Backstage, Einbinder told media: “I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors, right now in the north of Gaza, to provide care for pregnant women, and [working] for schoolchildren to create schools in the refugee camps.

“It’s an issue that’s really close to my heart for many reasons. I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel because our religion and our culture is such an important and longstanding … institution that is really separate to the ethno-nationalist state.”

Last week, Einbinder was one of... READ MORE  https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/sep/15/emmys-2025-israel-gaza-speeches-hannah-einbinder-javier-bardem

AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

Hannah Einbinder, who won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her role in Hacks. She called for a free Palestine on stage and wore a Artists4Ceasefire pin. Photograph: David Fisher/Shutterstock

Javier Bardem wore a Palestinian keffiyeh, a scarf worn as a headdress or neckerchief, on the red carpet at the Emmy awards. Photograph: Caroline Brehman/EPA

Megan Stalter’s handbag with “Ceasefire!” written on it. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images