'Reading Rainbow' host Mychal Threets completes 5-day psych hold
Published in Entertainment News
NEW YORK — “Reading Rainbow” host Mychal Threets told worried fans he’s unwell, but getting help following an alarming Aug.17 social media post.
“I just wanted to apologize for worrying so many people, I just got back from a 5-day stay at the hospital — a 5-day psychiatric hold,” the 36-year-old bookworm says in a new video.
Threets wrote on Threads last week that “I am not OK, maybe I’ll never be OK” and said he was checking himself into a hospital for help.
He returned over the weekend to expound on that sentiment.
“I haven’t been OK for what feels like a very, very long time,” Threets says. “I am not OK, but I have hope that I will get to OK.”
The California librarian and TV personality sometimes uses his platform to stress the importance of mental health care. He announced in February 2024 that he was leaving his job at the Fairfield Civic Center Library so he could focus on his own well-being.
Threets assured fans he’s safe on Saturday, while acknowledging that his road to wellness may be a long one.
“It’s gonna take a long time for me to be OK,” he emotionally confesses. “It’s going to take a long time.”
Threets thanks the doctors, nurses and specialists who treated him during his mental health episode.
“You saved my life,” he says.
He didn’t offer specifics about his illness or treatment. Threets also thanked his family and friends for their support.
“We’re struggling, we’re human being, we’re doing our best,” he states.
Threets continued posting messages on Threads in the days since telling supporters about his situation. A message added Sunday protests the high cost of health care.
“Blessed to continue receiving help to journey towards ok via an intensive outpatient program,” he wrote. “But mental health help is far too expensive.”
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