What “Buffy” star Nicholas Brendon said about his congenital heart defect, cauda equina syndrome before his death

Nicholas Brendonfaced multiple health issues before his death.

TheBuffy the Vampire Slayerstar, whodied this week at 54, had been diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome as well as a congenital heart defect.

Brendondiscussed his health challengesin a 2023 Instagram post.

"Sorry for the extra-long disappearing act," he wrote. "After two spinal surgeries and a heart attack, I've had multiple doctor appointments to juggle, and dealing with health insurance and pre-approvals feels nearly as emotionally exhausting and painful as dealing with my actual injuries."

TheCriminal Mindsactor added, "You'd think when the doctor says someone needs an urgent MRI and possibly an additional emergency surgery that the insurance company would get back to the doctor with any kind of answer at all. Right???"

Brendon needed time to rest after his surgery, "or at least as much as I'm capable of resting," he said at the time. "So I somehow ended up 'trapped' in Idyllwild-Pine Cove (California) by about 3 feet of snow and nothing but time to swing on the back porch or paint in front of the fireplace."

Cauda equina syndrome is aconditionthat occurs when a person experiences nerve dysfunction at the end of their spinal cord, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. It can be caused by injuries, spinal lesions, tumors, birth abnormalities, and spinal anesthesia.

The actor underwent spinal surgery in 2021 after a fall and had another spinal surgerylater that year.

Brendon's manager, Theresa Fortier, said the actor also had a C5/C6spinal fusion surgeryin April 2025.

Advertisement

The actor was taken to a hospital in 2022 due to a cardiac incident, his sister announced at the time. "Nicky is doing fine now, but he had to be rushed to emergency about two weeks ago because of a cardiac incident (tachycardia/arrhythmia)," shewrotein a since-deleted Instagram post (via theLos Angeles Times).

Tachycardia is the medical term for aheart rate exceeding 100 beats per minute, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can be caused by a number of different arrhythmias, or irregular heart rhythms.

Fortier told theLos Angeles Timesat the time that the actor was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect following an additional cardiac incident.

"After a second cardiac incident two weeks ago, Brendon was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that is more common in twins," she told the outlet in 2022 (Brendon had a twin brother, Kelly Donovan). "He is currently under the care of a cardiologist and has been focusing on painting and reducing stress."

Fortier added that Brendon's second 2021 spinal surgery resulted in cerebrospinal fluid leak that caused tachycardia at the time of his second cardiac event.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

Brendon's family announced his death in asocial media poston Friday.

"We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes," the family wrote. "Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art. Nicky loved to share his enthusiastic talent with his family, friends, and fans."

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byCustos Caelorum

in

March 21, 2026

What “Buffy” star Nicholas Brendon said about his congenital heart defect, cauda equina syndrome before his death

Nicholas Brendonfaced multiple health issues before his death. TheBuffy the Vampire Slayerstar, whodied this...

Read More

Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' canceled. Can ABC get a refund?

In front of cameras,Taylor Frankie Pauldated 22 men, slowly saying goodbye to eligible bachelors one by one untilshe handed her final roseto one man.

But in an unparalleled moment in Bachelor Nation history, fans will not see any of it after ABC cancelled the 22nd season of "The Bachelorette" just days before its scheduled Sunday, March 22 premiere.

The Disney-owned network pulled the plug due to an ongoing Utah police investigation into a "domestic assault" involving the"Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" starand her ex-partner,Dakota Mortensen, who have both leveled allegations. The season cancellation on March 19 comes after TMZ published ashocking videoshowing the 2023 violent altercation with Paul, seen yelling, hitting, kicking and throwing furniture at Mortensen while a child is heard crying.

What does the abrupt cancellation mean for ABC, the show's production company, the 22 bachelors and Paul herself? USA TODAY spoke to a legal expert to discuss the possible legal ramifications and how likely the public will be aware of it.

Could ABC sue for its money back for 'The Bachelorette'?

While the contracts between ABC and production company Warner Horizon Unscripted Television are not public knowledge, it's not out of the question that the network could file litigation to get some of its money back.

Unable to profit from the lost "Bachelorette" season, ABC may argue Warner Horizon Unscripted Television failed to properly background check Paul when casting her, if that was part of the contract, according to Ashlee Difuntorum, an attorney with the Los Angeles firm Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

Paul was arrested on Feb. 17, 2023, after Mortensen called, saying she was hitting him in front of two children. In March 2025, she faced several charges, including one felony count of aggravated assault and two felony counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child and one misdemeanor count each of child abuse and criminal mischief. Paul confirmed filming for the "Bachelorette" season was completed in December.

Production companies typically have contracts with cast members, showrunners, crew and vendors that often include "broad language" requiring parties to agree not to do anything to cause reputational harm, Difuntorum told USA TODAY.

"I certainly would expect some issue between the production company and Taylor Frankie Paul there, as far as the morality clause. I don't know the actual contract here, but that's what I would expect," she said. "Because as broadly as those are written, typically, I mean, almost certainly something like this would fall within it."

Have legal battles come from a reality TV cancellation before?

The 2009 reality dating season "Megan Wants a Millionaire" was pulled after contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins was wanted for the murder of his wife in Southern California, but died by suicide before he was arrested,Entertainment Weeklyreported.

The show's production company, 51 Minds, ended up reimbursing VH1 $12 million for the inadequate vetting of the Jenkins, who had a previous domestic‑violence conviction in Canada.

Could 'The Bachelorette' contestants sue?

Difuntorum said it's unlikely the bachelors on "The Bachelorette" Season 22 would sue over their episodes not airing, as typically reality TV contestants sign contracts where the network or production company reserves the right to not air the footage.

Advertisement

"Usually, contracts state pretty explicitly that it's the production company's footage, they can do whatever they want, including not ever use it," she said. "So I think it would be very rare to see an instance where a contestant could win based on suing, saying, "Hey, I thought I was going to be in this."

Taylor Frankie Paul took the reality TV world by storm in 2024 when "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" became a cultural phenomenon. The "MomTok" influencer and most recent "Bachelorette" spoke candidly about her infamous "swinging scandal" and has faced legal troubles throughout the show.

See her career in the spotlight, beginning here backstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul attends the 2026 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at The Kia Forum on Feb. 13, 2026, in Inglewood, California.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Former NBA player Tacko Fall and Paul before the start of the game.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul was named ABC's "Bachelorette" for 2026. She is the first "Bachelorette" lead to helm the franchise despite never appearing on "The Bachelor".

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul attends the 2025 TIME100 Creators Launch Party at Gansevoort Rooftop on July 10, 2025, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul at an event hosted by Hulu on April 22, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> "The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives" stars Layla Taylor, Miranda McWhorter, Jessi Ngatikaura, Mikayla Matthews, Mayci Neeley, Paul, Jennifer Affleck, Whitney Leavitt and Demi Engemann attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Season 2 at Paramount Studios on May 9, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> From left, Affleck, Paul, McWhorter, Neeley, and Matthews at SiriusXM Studios on May 8, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mitchell Tenpenny and Paul speak onstage during The 58th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 20, 2024, in Nashville.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paul poses on the red carpet before the CMAs.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See 'Mormon Wives' star Taylor Frankie Paul's life in the spotlight

Taylor Frankie Paultook the reality TV world by storm in 2024 when "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" became a cultural phenomenon. The "MomTok" influencer and most recent "Bachelorette" spoke candidly about her infamous "swinging scandal" and hasfaced legal troubles throughout the show.See her career in the spotlight, beginning here backstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026, in Hollywood, California.

Could Taylor Frankie Paul sue or be sued?

Difuntorum also addressed hypothetical scenarios of litigation involving Paul, either as a plaintiff or a defendant, though there is no strong indication that either is likely.

"If she's already been paid and the production companies feel under their contract she needs to owe it back, and she doesn't want to give it back. That could be a lawsuit. … I mean, theoretically, anyone can file a lawsuit," Difuntorum said. "If she hasn't been paid yet, they refuse to pay or she thinks she should be paid, she could be the one in the plaintiff's seat, suing the production company."

However, Difuntorum, she finds it unlikely that Paul would want to be blasted in litigation at this time.

Could litigation over 'The Bachelorette' be resolved privately?

Difuntorum said it's also possible for the public not to be aware of any legal discussions surrounding the cancelled season if the disagreement is "resolved without us ever knowing."

She mentioned VH1 cancelling "Ev and Ocho" in 2012, weeks before it aired, after filming 11 episodes. The series, which chronicled the engagement between former NFL starChad "Ochocinco" Johnsonand Evelyn Lozada, was cancelled after Johnson was arrested and later sentenced to 30 days in jail for a probation violation in a domestic violence case involving Lozada.

ABC's "Welcome to the Neighborhood" was another show that was shelved before it could air. The series was cancelled in 2005, less than two weeks before its premiere, due to outrage about its premise, according toThe Spokesman-Review. The series followed diverse families vying to win a home near Austin, Texas, by impressing three White, conservative families, who decided which contestants were "fit" to live in the neighborhood.

Ultimately, no reports of litigation from the cancellation ever came from either cancellation, Difuntorum said.

Did ABC make the right call in cancelling the season?

Sarah Schmidt, a crisis management expert and president of Interdependence PR, said ABC made the right choice in pulling the plug on "The Bachelorette" Season 22, though the entire situation is still damaging financially and optically.

"Yes, they are out millions. But Disney is a family company, and The Bachelorette is a family show. If they would have stayed the course, backlash would have been swift and significant," Schmidt said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This is a show that sells fantasy, finding true love, emotional safety, and romantic possibility. Casting someone with a documented history of violence and domestic assault and frankly, poor romantic judgement, undermines that premise."

Schmidt called the entire situation a case study in what happens when franchises "prioritize controversy over credibility." She said the worst-case scenario is that this is the "beginning of the end for Bachelor Nation" but at minimum, this situation will force an overhaul in the vetting of contestants, especially leads, which "should have happened years ago."

"This is a classic case of desperation casting gone wrong," Schmid said. "In this case, they chose to land a buzzy reality star. On the one hand, it's a calculated risk. On the other hand, they gambled with the brand's credibility."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' will not air. What comes next?

byCustos Caelorum

in

March 21, 2026

Taylor Frankie Paul's 'Bachelorette' canceled. Can ABC get a refund?

In front of cameras,Taylor Frankie Pauldated 22 men, slowly saying goodbye to eligible bachelors one by one untilshe han...

Read More

Elijah Wood Reveals Why Fans Confuse Him with Daniel Radcliffe

Plenty of celebrities have a famous doppelgänger—andElijah Woodis no exception.

Through the years,TheLord of the Ringsactor, 45, has admittedly been confused for fellow actorDaniel Radcliffeand while it may bother some stars to be incorrectly identified, the pair have never been fazed by the comparisons. In fact, they've each had a little bit of fun with the mix ups.

During an appearance onThe Drew Barrymore ShowonFriday(March 20), Wood was shown a clip of Radcliffe admitting that he had signed autographs that were meant for the other actor.

Thankfully, Wood found the whole thing "so funny," adding that people come up to him thinking he's Radcliffe "all the time."

Advertisement

🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬

As for why Wood thinks that people confuse him for Radcliffe, he explained that it goes beyond their similar facial features. Instead, Wood says he has theorized that people mix them up because their franchises,Harry PotterandThe Lord of the Rings, were box office hits around the same time.

"I think it's because those two film franchises came out around the same time," Wood shared.

Radcliffe has also reflected on the confusion, admitting that he felt bad about it at times considering the comparisons began when he was just a preteen and Wood was in his 20s.

"I really like him and felt so bad that we have been mixed up so much because also I was getting it when, at the start ofPotterwhenLord of the Ringswas coming out, he was, you know, a man in his 20s. I was 12 or 13," Radcliffetold CBR. "A 13 year old doesn't mind getting mistaken for a man in his 20s. I can only imagine it would have been very annoying for a 20 year old to be mistaken for a child."

He continued, "He's very, very gracious and always, you know, I feel like we've got very similar outlooks on our careers and that we just do what we like. He's a very nice person to get mistaken for as well. He's got a lovely reputation and he's done lovely, great films."

This story was originally published byParadeon Mar 21, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.

byCustos Caelorum

in

March 21, 2026

Elijah Wood Reveals Why Fans Confuse Him with Daniel Radcliffe

Plenty of celebrities have a famous doppelgänger—andElijah Woodis no exception. Through the years,TheLord of...

Read More

“Outlander ”Star Caitríona Balfe Had to Take 'Time Off' After 'Emotionally Taxing' Final Season (Exclusive)

Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe return as Jamie and Claire Fraser one final time in the eighth season of Outlander

NEED TO KNOW

• Balfe tells PEOPLE how the cast felt when filming wrapped on the season and why they all took time off to process the experience

• New episodes of Outlander premiere Fridays on Starz

Creating the final season ofOutlander— and then saying goodbye after more than a decade — was no easy feat.

StarsCaitríona BalfeandSam Heughan, who have led the hit Starz series since 2014, spent nearly a year filming the eighth season — and thenhad to return for some reshootstoo.

Balfe, 46, tells PEOPLE that she and her costar "felt so much responsibility to make it right, and everything felt heightened."

"It was an emotionally taxing nine months," she says of filming.

When production wrapped, she, Heughan, 45, and their costars all needed to decompress. "We all went and did something right after," she says.

"I went off and did a retreat, and [Heughan] went and climbed the Himalayas," she reveals. "Sophie [Skelton] went to Africa, Richard [Rankin] learned how to fly. I think we all had that initial ... I wouldn't say exorcist, but it's like that [process] of releasing it."

A retreat wasn't all that they did to move on from the career-defining roles. "All of us took some time off as well," Balfe adds. "Because I think you do — well, at least for me, I'll speak for myself — but I wanted to process it and I wanted to honor the experience of the character by letting it go, in a healthy way."

"I don't know, I think you can maybe make yourself a bit mad sometimes if you don't sit in the experience for a while," she says.

Her final moments on set were particularly emotional, she told PEOPLE at the season 8 premiere in New York City earlier this month. "I burst into tears," she admitted of her final scenes. "That moment was very, very emotional."

Advertisement

She took a few things to help remember her run as Claire, though: her character's rings. "I had a lot of weddings. I had a lot of marriages. I deserved the hardware," she said.

The final season brings "some answers" for fans, Balfe said, as well as some "new locations." She also teased that "a lot of reunions are going to be very exciting for fans."

Going into season 8, though, she said she "had no idea what was going to happen," given author Diana Gabaldon hasn't released the 10th and final book of the series yet.

"Obviously, we have diverged from the books more, because Diana's still writing, so it wasn't clear where [showrunner] Matt [Roberts] was going to take the story, and I wouldn't have wanted to have had his job, because it's a really tough job to have," she told PEOPLE. "Every single person wants their character to have their moment or whatever, so it would be hard to listen to everybody. So he kept his cards very close to his chest, which I totally understand."

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In the final season, Jamie and Claire realize that "the war has followed them home to Fraser's Ridge, now a thriving settlement that has grown and flourished in their absence" and "the Frasers are confronted with the question of what they are willing to sacrifice for the place they call home and, more importantly, what they would sacrifice to stay together," per a synopsis.

"While the Frasers keep a united front against outside intruders, family secrets finally coming to light threaten to tear them apart from the inside. Although they've left the war for America's freedom behind, their fight for Fraser's Ridge has only just begun."

New episodes ofOutlanderdrop Fridays on Starz.

Read the original article onPeople

byCustos Caelorum

in

March 21, 2026

“Outlander ”Star Caitríona Balfe Had to Take 'Time Off' After 'Emotionally Taxing' Final Season (Exclusive)

Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe return as Jamie and Claire Fraser one final time in the eighth season of Outlander ...

Read More

Ms. Rachel aims to help 'close Dilley' ICE facility after speaking with kids in detention there

The boy in the grainy video feed sounded desperate.

"I don't want to be here anymore," he said. "Nothing is good here."

Since early March, 9-year-old Deiver Henao Jimenez had been held with his parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, where children have complained of limited education, lights that never turn off and moldy food. Now he was on a video call with someone who said she wanted to help: Ms. Rachel.

Wearing her signature pink headband,the popular children's entertainerleaned toward the screen, trying to comfort the boy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said in a warm, high-pitched voice familiar to millions of children and parents. "A lot of people want to try to help."

Deiver told her he missed his friends and that the food at Dilley made his stomach hurt. But that wasn't what worried him most. Before he was detained, he had won his school spelling bee and placed third at regionals, earning a spot at New Mexico's state competition in May.

"I want to leave and go to the spelling bee," he said.

Ms. Rachel tried to reassure him.

"You have a real gift for spelling. You're so smart."

Then her smile faltered.

"It was unbelievably surreal to see this sweet little face and feel like I was on a call with somebody who's in jail," Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, told NBC News in an exclusive interview this week. "It broke me, and it was something I never thought I'd encounter in life."

Like many Americans, Accurso said she first became aware of the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, in January, after federal immigration agents detained the father of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minneapolis and sent them both to the remote, prisonlike facility. A photograph of the child — wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack — spread widely online, drawing national attention to the center and the treatment of families held there. They were eventually released butthe family's asylum claim was denied this week.

In the first year of its expanded immigration crackdown, the Trump administration placed more than 2,300 children into detention with their parents, with the overwhelming majority held at Dilley, according to figures provided by court-appointed monitors. Many have been held forseveral weeks or months.

During that time, Accurso — whose educational videos for babies and toddlers have made her one of the nation's most recognizable kids' entertainers — has become an increasingly prominent voice speaking out on behalf of vulnerable children. She has drawn attention to the plight of children in war-torn Gaza, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and drawing backlash from critics who have accused her of picking sides in global conflicts.

She has repeatedly defended her advocacy under a simple mantra: "I see all children as precious and equal."

After her video call last week with Deiver and another boy held at Dilley, Accurso told NBC News she is now embarking on a new mission closer to home: working with lawyers and immigration rights activists "to close Dilley and make sure that kids and their parents are back in their communities where they belong."

Parents and immigration lawyershave described childrenthere losing weight after findingworms in their food, growing anxious as guards patrol andstanding in line for hoursfor single doses of medicine. Some havesuffered medical emergencieswhile detained.

About 50 children remained at Dilley this week, down from about 500 in January,The New York Times reportedFriday based on a review of government figures and advocacy group estimates. Some of the families were released in the U.S.; others were deported. It's unclear what led to the sharp decline, but it follows months of pressure from human rights advocates, Democratic members of Congress and immigration lawyers.

The Department of Homeland Security didn't answer questions about the families Accurso met over video. The agency has disputed reports of poor conditions as "mainstream media lies," saying families at Dilley are provided comprehensive care in a facility "purpose-built" for their needs.

The more Accurso read about Dilley after Liam's detention, she said, the more unsettled she became. Then, last week, she got a chance to hear directly from children held there.

Journalist Lidia Terrazas, who has spent months reporting on conditions inside Dilley for theSpanish-language network N+ Univision, set up the video call.

Before chatting with Deiver, Accurso spoke to Gael, a 5-year-old with significant developmental delays. The boy, who is nonverbal, was in the process of being assessed for autism when he and his parents were detained in El Paso at a routine immigration check-in, according to the family's lawyer, Elora Mukherjee. Like Deiver's family, Gael's parents fled Colombia, have pending asylum claims and no criminal history in the U.S., and had been working and living in the country for years before their arrests, the families' lawyers said.

Advertisement

Mukherjee, a professor at Columbia Law School and the director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic, said Gael has a history of severe constipation that had been managed at home with a specialized diet, including fresh fruit and soups. In detention, she said, his condition spiraled.

In a brief video interview on Friday, Gael's parents, Nelsy and Leonardo, told NBC News their son's condition had continued to deteriorate in detention, both physically and emotionally. They asked to be identified only by their first names, fearing retaliation should they be deported to Colombia.

"This is not a place for him because he needs special care," Leonardo said, as Gael wandered around the bare, gray meeting room. "No human being should ever go through this."

On Accurso's call with her, Gael's mother said her son had not been able to poop in nine days and was struggling to eat, gagging when he tried. The facility had been treating him with laxatives and later an enema, but his condition hadn't significantly improved, his mother said. His stomach was visibly distended, Accurso said, leaving her "incredibly worried."

"Imagine if your child hadn't pooped in nine days," she said. "This is not normal. This is an important medical situation."

As his mother spoke, Accurso slipped into character and tried to engage him — singing "Wheels on the Bus," holding up a toy and talking to him about his love of trains — but he appeared restless and overwhelmed, she said.

Amid his confusion and discomfort, Gael has grown increasingly distressed at Dilley, Mukherjee said, at times hitting himself — behavior his parents had not previously seen.

"Treating a child this way is a crime," Accurso told NBC News. "It's neglect and child abuse."

Accurso said she was no less concerned about Deiver.

In their brief conversation, he moved quickly past the conditions inside the facility to what he was missing outside it — his classmates, his gifted and talented courses and, most of all, the spelling bee he had been preparing for.

"He's so proud," Accurso said.

The juxtaposition, she said, was difficult to process: a child talking about his love of pizza and school one moment, then asking for help getting out of a federal detention center the next.

"We're trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee," she said. "I just never thought those words would go together."

Accurso recalled winning her own second-grade classroom spelling bee with a lucky guess on the word "chocolate" — a small, long-ago victory she still remembers in vivid detail.

Moments like that are more than milestones, said Accurso, who has master's degrees in music education and early childhood development. They shape how children see themselves — their confidence, their sense of belonging, their sense of what comes next.

Taking those kinds of opportunities away from a child, she said, "is cruelty."

After speaking with the children, Accurso said she initially hesitated to speak out publicly.

Her advocacy for children in Gaza had led to a torrent of criticism from right-wing groups that accused her of antisemitism for centering Palestinian children rather than Israelis. Accurso has pushed back on those claims, noting that she advocates for children suffering on both sides of the conflict. The controversy has led to threats against her family, she said, and she worried that speaking out about ICE detention might inflame the situation.

But she kept coming back to the example set by Fred Rogers, the late children's television icon she considers her hero, who used his platform to speak out on behalf of children.

Ultimately, she said, the decision felt clear.

And unlike in the past, when she painstakingly sought to frame her activism as apolitical, Accurso said she is ready to embrace the label.

"I am political," she said. "It's political to believe that children are worthy of love and care, and that every child is equal, and that our care shouldn't stop at what we look like, our family, at our religion, at a border."

If being political is what it takes to bring Gael home, or to get Deiver to his spelling bee, Accurso said, then her conscience leaves her no other choice.

byCustos Caelorum

in

March 21, 2026

Ms. Rachel aims to help 'close Dilley' ICE facility after speaking with kids in detention there

The boy in the grainy video feed sounded desperate. "I don't want to be here anymore," he said...

Read More