Popular children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel—whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso—gave $3,000 to the Senate campaign of Michigan Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a politician who has harshly criticized Israel and accused it of “genocide,” the New York Post reported Sunday.
Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on July 19 show Accurso transferred the sum to El-Sayed’s campaign, though the filing doesn’t definitively indicate whether it was a donation or a loan.
El-Sayed, running for Senate as a Democrat, has previously called Israel’s government a “pariah state” and accused it of committing “genocide.” He’s also held campaign events alongside political internet personality Hasan Piker, who drew sharp criticism after claiming “America deserved to experience the 9/11 attacks” and that ultra-Orthodox Jews are “the product of incest.”
The move sparked backlash in the United States. Sheila Nazarian, a plastic surgeon, Iranian refugee, and reality TV star, said “Ms. Rachel’s decision to support Abdul El-Sayed is very disappointing,” adding that it raises the question of “why someone who built a brand based on values of kindness would choose to legitimize antisemitic and hateful rhetoric.”
Samantha Canter, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also attacked the move, arguing that parents should be concerned about the messages being sent to their children. Accurso herself chose not to respond to inquiries on the matter. In recent years she has frequently criticized Israel, previously accusing it of “genocide” and deliberately targeting children in the Gaza Strip.
Ms. Rachel, who is also popular in Israel, has more than 20 million subscribers on her video channel and about 5 million followers on social media, and is considered one of the most influential content creators in the world in early childhood education.