Reading Rainbow host Mychal Threets – better known as Mychal the Librarian – sparked concern with a cryptic message about checking himself into the hospital.
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“I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help. Going to the hopital [sic] tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace,” the TikTok-famous librarian shared via Threads on Monday, August 17.
Threets continued, “No matter what happens to me I will always be thankful for the extraordinary people in my life who worry, who help me. Thank you for your care. I will always love you. đź’š”
Us has reached out to Threets for comment.
Threets, 36, has been the face of Reading Rainbow since it relaunched on YouTube in October 2025. The popular children’s program previously aired on PBS from 1983 to 2006 and was hosted by LeVar Burton.
“There have been two hosts in the history of Reading Rainbow. The Legend of Literacy, LeVar Burton! And… me, Mychal Threets, a librarian,” the librarian wrote via Instagram after he was announced as host in September last year.
“I was raised on Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton is my hero. I am a reader, I am a librarian because LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow so powerfully made us believe we belong in books, we belong everywhere,” he added.
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“I am so happy for all of us that Reading Rainbow is returning! YOU all did this! We’re flying twice as high, butterflies in the sky! Stay tuned…” he concluded.
Threets found fame on social media after he began sharing videos via TikTok and Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has nearly 1 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, respectively.
In an April interview with NBC Bay Area, Threets said he left his previous job as a librarian “for mental health reasons.”
“I was just really struggling in life, struggling at work for the first time, just started feeling burnt out,” he said. “And I think my plan was, honestly, to leave the world at that time. I planned to take my own life in March 2024, and I’m still struggling today, but it’s led to a life of just traveling all over the United States, and now, I’m the resident librarian for PBS, PBS Kids, and also the host of Reading Rainbow.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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This story was originally published August 19, 2026 at 2:56 AM.