‘Reading Rainbow’ host Mychal Threets praised for seeking help

A gaggle of excited Fairfield elementary school students thronged Mychal Threets in May, exchanging high fives with him during a surprise visit from the beloved Fairfield native and nationally known “Reading Rainbow” host.

Just three months later, the TikTok influencer and literary advocate is, by his own admission, “not okay.”

“Maybe I’ll never be okay,” wrote Threets on Threads, Meta’s text-based app. “I’m seeking help. Going to the (hospital) tomorrow.”

RELATED: Bay Area librarian and host of ‘Reading Rainbow’ Mychal Threets tells concerned fans he’s seeking help

Fans first grew concerned about Threets’ well-being earlier this month when he began a video by telling viewers, “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 worked for 11 years at Solano County’s Fairfield Civic Center Library, and brought the joy of reading to his over 1.4 million social media followers online and in person, as his May visit to Fairfield’s Cleo Gordon Elementary attests.

On Friday, Solano County Library spokesman Christopher Diaz said, “We wish Mychal well as he navigates this difficult time. Our thoughts are with Mychal and his family.”

In recent years, libraries have morphed into something very different from the peaceful literary refuges they once were.

Library workers have become targets of abuse and even assault. In states like California, where the number of people experiencing homelessness has grown, librarians have had to act as emergency medical workers or mental health professionals at a moment’s notice.

Over a period of one year, Threets filed more than 170 incident reports documenting how library patrons had acted out: property damage, harassment, physical altercations, he told the New York Times in 2024.

In a 2022 study of more than 400 staff members at urban libraries across the country, nearly 70 percent of respondents said that they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons.

In “Trauma in the Library,” a University of Washington survey of 1,300 U.S. library workers conducted that same year, the workers reported more than 8,000 incidents including threats, assault or harassment. They also mentioned conflicts with library administrators, aging buildings and book-ban fallout.

Threets left the library in 2024, saying he was doing so to prioritize his mental health. In 2025, he was tapped to host an online revival of the children’s program “Reading Rainbow,” which dates back to 1983.

A Vallejo physician says Threets’ experiences, plus his lifelong struggles with depression and anxiety, could have left scars with which he still must contend.

“Traumas often come back to haunt us in different ways, said Dr. Tami Hendriksz, campus provost of Touro University. “Even when people are very talented and accomplished and productive and give an outward appearance of being successful and joyful, they can still be struggling with mental health challenges. Those past traumas can return and affect us again.

“It is important to normalize seeking mental health care, and that’s the silver lining in this.”

The doctor described Threets as a role model, both in his post saying he was going to go to the hospital and in his past social media comments in which he was open about his depression and anxiety.

Hendriksz said that when well-recognized people talk openly about their struggles and about getting help, it gives everyone else permission to acknowledge their struggles.

Threets has also said he experienced harrowing cyberbullying on TikTok and the social media site X (formerly Twitter). He has repeatedly spoken candidly about how the backlash has affected his mental health.

“Cyberbullying has a really serious impact on people,” says Christopher Taylor, a Texas psychotherapist.

Because of the perceived anonymity, in which a person can create a fake account from which to attack another, “we seem to have decided we can say anything we want: ‘You are a terrible person, you should kill yourself,’” the therapist said.

Hendriksz seemed to agree, saying, “Unfortunately, cyberbullying is prevalent even starting at young ages, and we do see negative impacts on people’s health.”

The minute a person experiences cyberbullying, she said, they should take screenshots to document what happened, report it to the moderators or whoever is accountable on the platform, and then get off the platform.

After taking the screenshots and reporting the abuse, “delete your accounts,” she said.

Dalal Mansour, principal of Cleo Gordon, the school Threets visited in May, seemed to be on board with Hendriksz’s analysis of the Reading Rainbow host’s impact on young students and grownups alike in his honesty and willingness to seek treatment.

“Librarian Mychal’s visit to our students in May was truly a special experience,” Mansour said in an email.

“Cleo Gordon is one of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District’s five community schools, and we are dedicated to removing barriers and supporting the emotional and physical wellness of all students and families,” the principal said. “His visit was not only engaging and meaningful, but also aligned with the core values of our school.

“Our students were captivated as Mychal spoke about his passion for libraries and storytelling, reminding us that it is always okay to ask for help,” Mansour said. “He remains a deeply cherished member of our community, and our thoughts are with him. We can’t wait to have him come visit again with our students!”

Ilana Israel Samuels, spokeswoman for the district, said, “Our goal is to ensure that our students and families know that we are here for them, and they are not alone. This goes for our staff as well. We have a wide range of wellness resources available on our website.” These include posters with names and contact information for staffers who can support students, and information about student trauma and recovery resources.

Students, parents and guardians in other Solano County school districts can visit the Solano County Office of Education website for resources including the wellness initiative, mobile crisis services and social-emotional learning.

Concerning the wider area, Hendriksz said, “Here in Solano County we have several ways for people to get help.” When someone is experiencing an urgent mental health crisis, they can call the county’s 24-hour mobile crisis team at 707-806-0866, she said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.