Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 20

Ms. Rachel Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over 2025 Motaz Video as Oct. 7 Footage Admission Resurfaces

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Sep 20

Ms. Rachel Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over 2025 Motaz Video as Oct. 7 Footage Admission Resurfaces

Q: Did Ms. Rachel know the explosive secrets her featured guest was hiding when she introduced him to millions of toddlers in 2025?

There is no public evidence that Ms. Rachel knew in 2025 that Motaz Azaiza had filmed Israeli hostages being beaten on Oct. 7 and chosen not to release the footage. What is documented is the timing. The resurfaced 2025 clip shows Rachel Griffin Accurso introducing Azaiza as her “friend” in an alphabet-style video. Azaiza’s account of withholding the footage surfaced later, in a recent interview on the Arabic-language “Taqarrab” podcast. Based on the reporting provided, he had not publicly disclosed that specific episode when the children’s video was made. No report cited here shows Accurso had private knowledge of Azaiza’s unpublished material, his reasons for withholding it, or his later remarks about pressure on Gaza journalists and criticism of Hamas. Fox News Digital said it sought comment from Accurso and did not immediately receive a response, but there is no published statement from her confirming prior knowledge. What can fairly be said is narrower: by 2025, Azaiza was already a very prominent Gaza photojournalist and public advocate, and Accurso had become increasingly outspoken about Palestinian children. Their public association is established. But the claim that she knowingly featured someone while aware he was “hiding” this specific information is not supported by the available evidence. So the strongest answer is that it remains unproven, and the current public record points to no verified indication that she knew.

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 20

A 2025 video showing Ms. Rachel calling Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza her “friend” resurfaced Sunday, intensifying criticism of the children’s entertainer after Azaiza’s recent comments about Oct. 7.
Azaiza said on an Arabic-language podcast that he filmed Israeli hostages being beaten by a Gaza crowd on Oct. 7, 2023, but withheld the footage because he feared Israel could identify and target Palestinians shown in it.
The clip gained traction as Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, was already under fire for outspoken Gaza advocacy, including accusing celebrities who stayed silent about Palestinian children of applying a racial double standard.
Jewish community figures cited by Fox News Digital said Azaiza’s disclosure undercut his claim to show Gaza “unfiltered” and argued Accurso’s association with him and messaging to her large audience were misleading; she did not immediately respond to a request for comment.