Beloved children’s entertainer Mychal Threets has spoken publicly for the first time after spending five days on a psychiatric hold, offering fans an emotional and honest update on his mental health.
The message came just days after the 36-year-old announced he was admitting himself to a hospital, alarming followers with a cryptic post in which he said he was “not okay.”
Threets, known for hosting the children’s show Reading Rainbow since September 2025, shared a video on Saturday on Threads, where he addressed concerned fans directly.
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people. I just got back from a five-day stay at the hospital, a five-day psychiatric hold,” he said in the clip.
He went on to acknowledge that he has not been “okay for what feels like a very, very long time,” adding, “I am not okay. But I have hope I will get to okay. I’m on the struggle bookmobile.”
“It’s gonna take a long time for me to be okay,” Threets continued, pausing briefly as he lowered his head into his hands.
Beloved children’s entertainer Mychal Threets, 36, shared a candid health update after a five-day psychiatric hold; pictured in 2025 in New York City
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people. I just got back from a five-day stay at the hospital, a five-day psychiatric hold,” Threets said in a Threads video posted Saturday
‘It’s going to take a long time,’ Threets said before sending gratitude to the ‘doctors, nurses and mental health workers I saw. It’s not enough, but thank you. You saved my life.
‘Thank you to my family and friends. Thank you to you. 3-6-9, it’s okay to not be fine. We’re struggling, we’re human beings. We’re doing our best.’
Towards the end of the clip, Threets added, ‘Thank you for being you. Thank you for staying. Maybe I’ll see you at the library. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
He then gave a thumbs up towards the camera while holding a smile and concluded with, ‘I love you, yes.’
In a separate Threads post, Threets additionally typed out: ‘There are no right words to express my gratitude for the extraordinary mental health care, the help, I received while on a voluntary psychiatric hospital hold. Human empathy, kindness, care.
‘Blessed to continue receiving help to journey towards ok via an intensive outpatient program. But mental health help is far too expensive.’
The media personality added, ‘It should not be. We should not have to worry about being able to afford help.
‘This must change. I am worthy of help, you are worthy of help, we are worthy of help.’
He admitted to not being ‘okay for what feels like a very, very long time. I am not okay. But I have hope I will get to okay. I’m on the struggle bookmobile’
‘It’s going to take a long time,’ Threets said before sending gratitude to the ‘doctors, nurses and mental health workers I saw. It’s not enough, but thank you. You saved my life’
In a separate Threads post, Threets additionally typed out: ‘There are no right words to express my gratitude for the extraordinary mental health care, the help, I received while on a voluntary psychiatric hospital hold. Human empathy, kindness, care’
Daily Mail has reached out to a rep for Threets for comment, but has yet to hear back.
Earlier this week, Threets shared the news on Threads that he would be checking himself into a hospital.
‘I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help. Going to the hospital tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace,’ Threets wrote at the time.
‘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.’
In response, he was met with many supportive messages, including notes from famous figures.
‘If you need the help, maybe go tonight, friend,’ wrote actress Yvette Nicole Brown.
Entrepreneur Nicole Waters typed: ‘The hospital is 24/7 support – and how lovely that help is always there when you need it – so now is a good time too.
‘And know that staying is an incredible gift to all of us – we are so grateful and proud of you for saying these thoughts out loud so we can send you our energy and love. See you tomorrow friend.’
Threets is the host of popular children’s show Reading Rainbow, an educational series that launched on PBS in 1983.
Earlier this week, Threets shared the news on Threads that he would be checking himself into a hospital; seen in March
‘I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help. Going to the hospital tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace,’ Threets wrote at the time
Threets is the host of popular children’s show Reading Rainbow, an educational series that launched on PBS in 1983
Threets became the show’s host in September 2025, after the series was revived for a reboot.
Each episode is centered on a featured book, and it’s meant to encourage a love of reading in children.
Threets, who is a librarian, went viral on social media in 2023 after he shared videos of his life working at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in California, and was later named the resident librarian for PBS in 2024.
His message on Threads came just weeks after he posted a video on TikTok that concerned fans, in which he said: ‘If today is my last day in the land of the living, I just wanted to say I love you and I’m proud of you.
Threets, who is a librarian, went viral on social media in 2023 after he shared videos of his life working at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in California, and was later named the resident librarian for PBS in 2024; seen in April in Texas
‘The world, the library is best with you in it. Thank you for staying.’
He has previously opened up about his struggles with mental health and has admitted that he struggled with both depression and anxiety.
‘I’m still a very introverted person,’ Threets told People in a January 2026 interview while reflecting on his sudden fame.
‘I think because of what’s happened in life, I’ve become more extroverted. I’ve been more comfortable talking about the library, talking about library stories, talking about mental health, just because I love it all,’ he added.
‘But had I known all this was going to happen, I probably would’ve never started posting.’
‘I’m still a very introverted person,’ Threets told People in a January 2026 interview while reflecting on his sudden fame
However, he added that it is his joy for reading and love of the library that inspired him to keep going.
‘I still have hard days and I’d much rather be behind the scenes,’ he told People.
‘But for a chance to amplify libraries, amplify people’s stories – essentially, I serve almost as a narrator of library joy, and I’m honored to do it.
‘Everybody had a place in the library, in books. I’m just so thankful, so proud, to be able to unleash this story on the world.’
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
