Ms. Rachel returns to TikTok with message about ‘boundaries’ amid drama over co-star

Ms. Rachel has returned to TikTok after a short break with an important message about social media boundaries.

“I was able to spend some time thinking about setting social media boundaries for myself, which is a good practice for a lot of people,” she says in the short video. “And with social media boundaries, you figure out ways to protect yourself and you recognize, ‘Oh when I do this, I don’t feel so good and so I’m going to do less of this.’

“And it’s a good way to practice self-care, which is very important,” she continues, “but I am here to serve children and their families every day and to share the love and kindness that we want to see reflected in the world. And thank you so much for all the love.”

Though Ms. Rachel hasn’t addressed the specific source of harm and stress she’s been dealing with, she is very likely commenting on the fact that moms who identify as “conservative” and “traditional” have been taking issue with the fact that Ms. Rachel’s co-star, Jules Hoffman, uses they/them pronouns. Several videos of “traditional” moms have gone viral in recent weeks.

Anyone who would take the time to spread negativity and hate toward Ms. Rachel and Jules of “Songs For Littles” is someone who might need to take a good, long, hard look at themselves—because that woman is basically helping to raise a whole new generation of children.

She announced her break from TikTok a week ago.

“Taking a break from TikTok for my mental health,” she sings.

“Hurtful videos and comments, no matter how much attention they get, will not bring you what you want,” Ms. Rachel captions the video. “Only love can do that.”

Related: Some jerk sent Ms. Rachel hate mail and moms on TikTok are NOT having it

This video of a woman who describes herself as a “traditional mother” takes aim at Ms. Rachel and her co-star, Jules Hoffman. It’s not the only video or social media commentary about Jules, but it’s one of the most viral videos and has led to harm and harassment toward them.

Jules addressed the recent backlash to their identity over the weekend.

Jules, like Ms. Rachel, is wonderful with teaching kiddos to sing and helping them learn. The women who feel entitled to criticize Jules’ existence lament the “politics” behind their self-identification. One user, “Mama_Burg,” has accused Ms. Rachel’s show of being part of the “woke agenda” (whatever that means) and not being “appropriate” for children. She also says she doesn’t like it when her kids watch shows containing content she’s not “comfortable with.”

The thing is, people don’t exist for the universal comfort of everyone. The existence of Ms. Rachel, Jules and “Songs For Littles” isn’t based on any one person’s idea of what is “good” or “bad.” While parents, of course, control what media our kids consume, how could showing them something as sweet and helpful as “Songs For Littles” be considered inappropriate? People who identify as male, female, non-binary, transgender, etc. exist whether others are comfortable with it or not. We’re all valuable pieces of this great big world, full stop.

Related: Ms. Rachel breaks character to deliver message about mom guilt in viral TikTok

While intentionally incendiary posts like the one mentioned above can indeed be hurtful (especially once they start getting the attention that was so clearly desired), many moms are—as always—stepping up to defend Ms. Rachel and Jules.