5 crazy revelations from Vanity Fair profile on RFK Jr: From eating a dog to carrying around a live snake
Here are some eyebrow-raising insights from Vanity Fair's expose on RFK Jr
Robert F Kennedy Jr's independent presidential campaign has been marked by numerous controversies and eyebrow-raising incidents. From his ambitious endeavor to secure a place on all 50 state ballots to peculiar push-up videos and strange remarks about brain worms, Kennedy's campaign has been anything but conventional. A recent expose by Joe Hagan for Vanity Fair has further fueled the controversy surrounding Kennedy, revealing some unsettling allegations and anecdotes from his past. These revelations paint a complex and often troubling portrait of Kennedy Jr - featuring unflattering remarks from friends and family and serious allegations of misconduct. Here are five of the most shocking details from the latest report on Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longshot contender against President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the upcoming November election.
1. Controversial photo with a barbecued dog
According to Hagan's report, Robert F Kennedy Jr once sent a photo of himself and an unidentified woman posing with what appeared to be a barbecued dog carcass. This photo, taken in 2010, was identified by a veterinarian as a dead dog. Kennedy Jr reportedly sent the image to a person traveling to Asia, possibly as a joke, suggesting a restaurant in Korea they might enjoy. Critics of Kennedy Jr quickly spread the photo on social media, sparking outrage. In a later interview, Kennedy Jr claimed that the image did not show a dog but a goat, which he had eaten in Patagonia.
2. Open drug use in front of a reporter
Hagan's report delves into Kennedy Jr's early years of drug addiction, a topic he has openly discussed during his campaign. The report highlights an incident where Kennedy Jr snorted cocaine in front of a reporter who was co-authoring a book on the Kennedys in 1984. David Horowitz, a witness to the event, recounted that Kennedy Jr not only cut lines of cocaine in front of his brother, Michael Kennedy, but also had Michael snort a line in front of Horowitz, who was a reporter.
3. Babysitter accuses RFK Jr of sexual misconduct
Eliza Cooney, a former part-time babysitter for the Kennedy family, accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of sexual assault. Cooney, who was 23 at the time and had recently graduated from college, lived in the Kennedy home in New York while also working at Kennedy Jr's environmental law clinic. She claimed that Kennedy Jr inappropriately touched her during a meeting and later asked her to rub lotion on his back late at night. Cooney detailed these incidents in a diary entry reviewed by Hagan, writing, “I have to watch out, be careful. And the other night in the kitchen w/ Murray I could have sworn he was touching my leg + hand. It seemed like he thought I was somebody else or wasn’t paying attention. Like he would come to every once in a while and snap out of it or I would move away. It was like he was on something or really tired or was missing Mary or was testing me." Kennedy J.'s team did not respond to these specific allegations, but he acknowledged in a general interview that he had a "very rambunctious youth" and was "not a church boy," refraining from commenting on Cooney's accusations directly.
4. Ousted from non-profit after meeting with Donald Trump
Kennedy Jr faced significant backlash after meeting with Donald Trump at Trump Tower in 2017. This meeting led to internal conflicts at the non-profit organization Riverkeeper, where Kennedy Jr served as an attorney and spokesperson. The controversy culminated in Kennedy Jr being ousted from the organization. An individual close to the non-profit recalled Kennedy Jr making contradictory statements about scientists, which contributed to the decision to remove him. “On Monday morning he’s giving a speech saying, ‘Do not believe any scientists [on vaccines]', and on Tuesday, ‘You’ve gotta believe the scientists when it comes to climate change or what we’re doing to the river',” they said. Ultimately, Kennedy Jr and the non-profit's leadership agreed to frame his departure as a resignation.
5. Bizarre antics during college years
Some of the most bizarre anecdotes about Kennedy Jr stem from his college years, which were reportedly filled with addiction and erratic behavior. According to Hagan, family lore recounts Kennedy Jr. carrying a live snake around campus, keeping an owl in his dorm room, and even leaping between six-story buildings like Spider-Man while attending Harvard. "Family lore had it that Kennedy, while attending Harvard, once leapt the gap between two six-story buildings. He kept an owl in his house and carried a live snake around campus," Hagan wrote.
