Cheryl Hines criticizes media portrayal of RFK Jr, says he doesn’t want to ‘hurt people’

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Actress Cheryl Hines pushed back against social media criticism of her husband, Robert F Kennedy Jr, saying he is not trying to hurt people.

Speaking during a recent appearance on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast, Hines defended Kennedy and said his legal work shows that his goal has always been to help the public, not harm it.

Cheryl Hines defends Robert F Kennedy Jr’s record

Cheryl Hines spoke with Joe Rogan this week and addressed how some non-conservative media outlets portray her husband, Robert F Kennedy Jr. She pushed back against claims that he wants to harm people.

“When people talk about Bobby and they want to paint him as somebody who is trying to hurt people… it’s like look at his career and who he is and what he’s accomplished,” she said.

Hines pointed to his years of legal work suing large corporations for polluting waterways, which she said harmed communities and caused serious health problems.

"He spent a lot of time suing huge corporations because they were polluting waterways, which was hurting people, killing people, and giving people cancer.”

She argued that his record shows he has spent his life helping others. “So why would he spend all of his life fighting for people, fighting for individuals, and then suddenly change and want to hurt people?” she said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

While Hines blamed media coverage for shaping his reputation, criticism of Kennedy’s leadership has also come from health experts, not just news organizations.

Former Surgeons General warn over RFK Jr policies

In October, six former US Surgeons General who served under every president since George H W Bush wrote a letter in The Washington Post warning that Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr is putting the nation’s health at risk.

They said, "Over recent months, we have watched with increasing alarm as the foundations of our nation’s public health system have been undermined. Science and expertise have taken a back seat to ideology and misinformation."

They also added, "Morale has plummeted in our health agencies, and talent is fleeing at a time when we face rising threats, from resurgent infectious diseases to worsening chronic illnesses."

The former Surgeons General criticized Kennedy for promoting what they called "dangerous and discredited claims about vaccines," including the widely rejected theory that childhood vaccines cause autism and false claims about the HPV vaccine.

Last fall, Donald Trump and Kennedy also promoted claims linking Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism. Medical experts quickly challenged those claims. When asked about pregnant women seeking pain relief, Trump suggested they “tough out” their symptoms.

Dr Melissa Simon, vice chair for research in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University, disagreed. She said, "The same thing with pain, toughing it out, the president nor other people who are telling women who are pregnant should just tough it out with respect to fever and pain have not been pregnant. Tylenol is considered the safest over-the-counter choice when treating either a fever or pain."