Kids' YouTuber Ms. Rachel admitted to mistakenly liking an antisemitic Instagram comment that called for America to be "free from the Jews" and claimed she was attempting to delete it when she misclicked because she's "old" and makes mistakes.
In a since-deleted Insta post, Ms. Rachel, whose legal name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, shared a statement from her notes app that read "Free Palestine, Free Sudan, Free Congo, Free Iran" with each country's respective flag.
One comment left by an account belonging to a man from Slovakia added "Free America from the Jews" -- which was liked by four other users, including Accurso, according to screenshots shared online.
A well-meaning fan messaged the YouTube star privately and pointed out what she was sure was "an accident," according to Accurso's apology post, which included a screenshot of the exchange.
"Hi rachel, just wanted to let you know there's a comment under your latest post that says 'free American from the Jews' that says like by the author. I'm sure that's an accident so wanted to let you know," the follower wrote.
"Deleted - how horrible - oh wait let me check - I did delete one like that," Accurso messaged back.
"Ya I believe I deleted that earlier right when I saw it! I hate antisemitism," she added.
In the post's caption, Accurso explained that she "was just tapping and thought [the comment] was deleted."
"This is from yesterday. People are allowed to make mistakes. I am super sorry for any confusion it caused. I delete antisemitism ANY time I see it. I am against all forms of hate including antisemitism against the Jewish people," she wrote.
In a second post about the apparent comment mishap, Accurso shared an emotional video of herself speaking to the camera and wrote that she is "so broken over this."
"So I thought I deleted a comment and I accidentally hit 'like and hide'," she began in the sniffly apology clip.
"I would never agree with an antisemitic thing like the comment. We have Jewish family; a lot of my friends are Jewish," she said. "I delete antisemitic comments."
"I feel like we can't be human anymore online," Accurso complained. "And I'm so sorry for the confusion it caused. I'm so sorry if anyone thought that I would ever agree with something so horrible and antisemitic like that. I don't."
"I want to say that it's OK to be human and it's OK to make mistakes and I'm old, so I am not as good with touching things online, I guess. I have liked things by accident before," the 43-year-old Internet sensation admitted before breaking down.
Some die-hard followers praised Accurso for her "transparency."
"No one believes this was intentional. They do things like this to set you up. We know your heart," a follower wrote.
But others weren't so easily convinced.
"What do you mean 'deleted' when you LITERALLY LIKED THE COMMENT and was caught in 4K? This gaslighting is WILD," one person seethed.
"your comments are full of blatant antisemitism that you allow to run rampant but i'm sure you already know this," another highlighted.
Accurso, a staunch Israel critic, boasts 4.8 million followers on her Instagram and a whopping 18.6 million on her YouTube channel.
Many of her kids' learning videos, which are geared towards toddlers and babies, have racked up more than 200 million views each -- and she recently launched a collaboration with Elmo.
In late December, Accurso, a Maine native who now lives in Manhattan, was named to Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inaugural committee, which dissolved after he was sworn in. She was a vocal critic of former Mayor Eric Adams and bashed him for his sweeping cuts to early childhood education.