For millions of American parents and grandparents, “Ms. Rachel” is not just a celebrity or social media influencer, but a daily presence in their living rooms. Her voice plays on TVs, tablets and phones during a child’s earliest years as part of her educational programming for toddlers.
Her real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, the face behind the viral YouTube series “Songs for Littles.” Over the past six years, Accurso has grown the brand from homemade videos into a multimillion-dollar children’s entertainment operation focused on early language development for babies and toddlers.
As her audience and influence have grown, Accurso has increasingly drawn criticism from some parents over her public political and social activism, leading some families to question whether the content remains strictly educational.
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Her content is delivered primarily through YouTube, where she has amassed more than 18.7 million subscribers. Her videos regularly receive millions of views, with her most-watched clip surpassing 1.8 billion views. She can also be seen on Netflix and has her own line of books, toys and branded clothing.
The @MsRachel account launched in February 2019 after Accurso’s son was born. She has said she created the series after he experienced significant speech delays. The “Ms. Rachel” website states she holds two master’s degrees in education — one in early-childhood development and one in music education.
That authority and the expectation that the content would remain focused solely on early education set the stage for the first major backlash surrounding the brand.
One of the first controversies emerged in 2023, when some parents began to question the inclusion of Jules Hoffman in the videos. Hoffman, a musician who identifies as nonbinary, has previously spoken publicly about their gender transition.
While “Songs for Littles” has not included explicit discussions of pronouns, critics argued the inclusion of a nonbinary performer blurred boundaries in content aimed at toddlers.
Amid the backlash, Accurso announced a mental health break from TikTok in February 2023, citing “hurtful videos and comments.” She returned in March 2023 in a video about social media boundaries with the caption “Love > fear.”
Hoffman has since launched a children’s education brand and has been outspoken politically online. Earlier this month, Hoffman posted a song criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, saying they “pretend to be good guys” and telling people to “protect our neighbors with our bodies.”
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After the start of the Israel-Hamas war, criticism of the “Ms. Rachel” brand increased from some conservatives. In May 2024, Accurso expanded her advocacy regarding the conflict in the Middle East. She started a fundraiser for the nonprofit Save the Children, aiming to help children in several conflict zones, including Gaza.
She offered to create personalized recorded videos with all proceeds donated to the emergency fund. The decision was met with claims it was one-sided humanitarianism. One pro-Israel group accused her of overlooking Israeli children killed or kidnapped by the terror group Hamas on Oct. 7.
Accurso posted a tearful video on TikTok, writing, “I care deeply for all children. Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the U.S. — Muslim, Jewish, Christian children — all children, in every country. Not one is excluded.”
Accurso wrote a similar post on Instagram in December, saying she was a Christian and her faith in Jesus informed her belief that all are welcome in her class.
“Just so you know, you are welcome in Ms Rachel’s classroom [and] I love you. People who are trans, gay, nonbinary, people who are Somali, people who are any religion – Muslim, Jewish, Christian or not religious, people who use food stamps, Democrats, Republicans, people who are undocumented, people who hate me,” she wrote.
“Also I’m Christian and I feel in my soul and my prayers (and Jesus’s example) no one is to be excluded,” she added in a comment.
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Her support for children in Gaza later expanded to work with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. She also hosted a 3-year-old double amputee from Gaza, Rahaf, who had been brought to the U.S. for treatment.
Accurso told Democracy Now! the pain of receiving criticism will “never compare to the pain of not speaking out during a genocide.” She also posted on Threads in July 2025, stating that she is “not comfortable working with anyone who hasn’t spoken out about Gaza.”
She also sat for an interview with anti-Israel journalist Mehdi Hasan for an interview to explain why she was speaking out about Gazan children. She said she was “horrified by October 7” and said it was false to suggest that caring about children in an emergency situation meant she cared less about others.
Last week, Accurso posted an apology video after liking an antisemitic comment on Instagram that read, “Free America from the Jews.” She said the comment was accidentally liked while she was trying to delete it and noted she’s a human who “makes mistakes.”
Accurso added in a statement to Fox News Digital, “[On Wednesday], I accidentally liked a hateful comment on my social media while trying to delete it. I have always been completely clear on this; I do not support language that targets or harms the Jewish community or any community. Antisemitism and hate of any kind have no place in my life or my work. Everything I do is rooted in kindness, inclusion, and care for all humanity. Those values guide me every day, and I remain firmly committed to them.”
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Accurso became more directly involved in politics after being named to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural committee in December. Mamdani, who has described himself as a democratic socialist, has been an outspoken critic of Israel. Earlier this month, the two appeared together in a video discussing his proposals for universal childcare and free bus service.
Despite past boycotts of “Ms. Rachel” by a number of concerned parents, Accurso struck a deal with Netflix. It added several of her interactive lessons to the streaming platform, which also streams the long-running children’s show “Sesame Street.”
Representatives for Accurso declined additional comment to Fox News Digital.
