Kids' YouTube star Ms. Rachel has found herself at the center of another controversy, this time over her apology for liking an antisemitic Instagram comment. The social media personality, who was endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's campaign team, claimed she had "accidentally hit like" on the offending post, which called for America to be "free from the Jews." However, critics argue that her response was insincere and came across as a victimhood narrative.
The backlash against Ms. Rachel began when it emerged that she had liked another antisemitic comment posted by a pro-Hamas account, which claimed that Jewish groups were behind the initial post. When confronted with this evidence, Ms. Rachel doubled down on her previous apology, further fueling outrage among critics.
StopAntisemitism, an organization that tracks hate crimes, has accused Ms. Rachel of being "antisemite of the year" for her past support of Hamas and use of language aligned with the group's ideology. The group also criticized her response to criticism, saying she was playing the victim instead of addressing legitimate concerns.
The incident highlights a larger issue with mainstream politics becoming increasingly intertwined with extremist ideologies. As Ms. Rachel has built a large following on social media by sharing pro-Palestinian content and supporting Hamas, critics are questioning whether she is fit for public office.
Ms. Rachel's inclusion in Mayor Mamdani's inauguration committee has sparked disgust among many prominent Jewish New Yorkers, who say her presence undermines their faith in the mayor's commitment to diversity and inclusivity. As one critic put it, "She brings false charges against Jews. She smears Jews. What a disgrace."
The incident also raises questions about social media platforms' role in moderating hate speech and ensuring that users are held accountable for their actions. Ms. Rachel's case highlights the need for greater transparency and consequences when users like her repeatedly engage with antisemitic content.
In the end, it seems that Ms. Rachel's attempts to apologize and move on have only further entrenched public distrust of her. As one Twitter user pointed out, "The like button and hide button are nowhere near one another and are clearly different. Even a child wouldn’t be confused distinguishing a heart symbol from the word 'hide.'" The lesson here is that sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of effort to learn from your mistakes – but not when you're willing to gaslight others instead.
The backlash against Ms. Rachel began when it emerged that she had liked another antisemitic comment posted by a pro-Hamas account, which claimed that Jewish groups were behind the initial post. When confronted with this evidence, Ms. Rachel doubled down on her previous apology, further fueling outrage among critics.
StopAntisemitism, an organization that tracks hate crimes, has accused Ms. Rachel of being "antisemite of the year" for her past support of Hamas and use of language aligned with the group's ideology. The group also criticized her response to criticism, saying she was playing the victim instead of addressing legitimate concerns.
The incident highlights a larger issue with mainstream politics becoming increasingly intertwined with extremist ideologies. As Ms. Rachel has built a large following on social media by sharing pro-Palestinian content and supporting Hamas, critics are questioning whether she is fit for public office.
Ms. Rachel's inclusion in Mayor Mamdani's inauguration committee has sparked disgust among many prominent Jewish New Yorkers, who say her presence undermines their faith in the mayor's commitment to diversity and inclusivity. As one critic put it, "She brings false charges against Jews. She smears Jews. What a disgrace."
The incident also raises questions about social media platforms' role in moderating hate speech and ensuring that users are held accountable for their actions. Ms. Rachel's case highlights the need for greater transparency and consequences when users like her repeatedly engage with antisemitic content.
In the end, it seems that Ms. Rachel's attempts to apologize and move on have only further entrenched public distrust of her. As one Twitter user pointed out, "The like button and hide button are nowhere near one another and are clearly different. Even a child wouldn’t be confused distinguishing a heart symbol from the word 'hide.'" The lesson here is that sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of effort to learn from your mistakes – but not when you're willing to gaslight others instead.
. She's trying to justify her behavior by saying she "accidentally" liked those antisemitic comments, but it comes across as so insincere 
. And now that more evidence has come out about her past support for Hamas, it's clear she was willfully ignoring the hate speech and playing dumb 
.
. The problem here isn't that Ms. Rachel made a mistake (although liking antisemitic comments is definitely a huge one 
), it's that she's not taking responsibility for her actions and is instead trying to shift the blame onto others 
.
. It's ridiculous that she's still getting away with it, and it's clear that we need better moderation and consequences for users who engage in hate speech 
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. How hard is it to own up to liking an antisemitic comment? It's just one mistake, and she needs to take responsibility for her actions. But no, she's playing the victim and using that as an excuse to deflect criticism. That's not how you handle a mistake, it's like saying "oh woe is me" instead of "oh dear, I was wrong". And what really gets me is that she's got a whole following who are eating up her apologies. It's just so frustrating when people who claim to be for diversity and inclusivity turn out to be the opposite 
.
she made a mistake, yeah, but we've all been there... 100 times worse than this would have happened if we'd kept our mouths shut... but now people are saying that liking an antisemitic comment means you're antisemitic and I don't think that's right... 
... I think she needs to own up to her past mistakes and take responsibility for what she likes and comments on. It's not about being "antisemite of the year" or playing victim, it's about having the courage to admit when you're wrong and apologize sincerely 
... it's like she's more worried about saving face than doing what's right 
. And let's be real, if she was going to be part of a campaign team, she should've done her due diligence on the team's values and ideologies beforehand 
... maybe a permanent "like" vs "hide" button that shows what you really mean? 
she had a history of pro-palestinian content and now she's playing victim when people call her out on it? not buying it 
. I'm calling for greater accountability from social media platforms and the people who use them. We can't just sweep this under the rug and expect everything to be okay 
. It's time to hold people like her to a higher standard 
.
. But what happens when that same person likens America to a concentration camp? That's when the outrage begins 
.
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. Ms. Rachel needs to take a hard look at her own biases and ideologies before she can start making amends for her past behavior 
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. Until then, we'll just keep calling out the hate and pushing for change 
.