‘Reading Rainbow’ Host Shares Health Update After ‘5-Day Psychiatric Hold’
‘Reading Rainbow’ Host Shares Health Update After ‘5-Day Psychiatric Hold’
Jazmin Tolliver Mon, August 24, 2026 at 1:34 AM UTC
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“Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets on Saturday shared a health update following his recent decision to seek more intensive medical help for mental health issues.
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people,” Threets, 36, said in a video clip shared to Threads. “I just got back from a five-day stay at the hospital, a five-day psychiatric hold. I haven’t been OK for what feels like a very, very long time. I am not OK. But I have hope that I will get to OK.”
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Threets, the media personality and beloved librarian who hosts the “Reading Rainbow” reboot, went on to thank the health care professionals who he said saved his life.
“I’m on the struggle bookmobile. It’s gonna take a long time for me to be OK,” he continued. “It’s going to take a long time, but I just wanted to say thank you to the multitude of doctors, nurses and mental health workers I saw — it’s not enough, but thank you, you saved my life.”
Threets then shared a message of thanks for his fans.
“Three, six, nine, it’s okay to not be fine. We’re struggling. We’re human beings. We’re doing our best,” he said. “Thank you for being you. Thank you for staying. Maybe I’ll see you at the library. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”
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Threets captioned the post, “I am safe [mending heart emoji].”
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Threets announced in an Aug. 17 Threads post that he was checking himself into a hospital for mental health care.
“I am not okay. Maybe I’ll never be okay. I’m seeking help,” he wrote. “Going to the hospital tomorrow. In this moment I am safe. By God’s grace.”
“No matter what happens to me I will always be thankful for the extraordinary people in my life who worry, who help me,” Threets continued. “Thank you for your care. I will always love you.”
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Mychal Threets, a.k.a. Mychal the Librarian, began hosting the “Reading Rainbow” reboot in October 2025.Chris Saucedo via Getty Images
Threets, who has nearly 1 million Instagram followers, has opened up in the past about navigating depression and anxiety while in the spotlight.
“I’m still a very introverted person,” he told People in January. “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. But had I known all this was going to happen, I probably would’ve never started posting.”
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Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.
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