Cheryl Hines criticized an interview on “The View” earlier this month, saying the hosts “just wanted to blame me” for her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Hines, an actor and comedian known for his role on Larry David’s HBO comedy “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” appeared on ABC’s talk show on Oct. 14 to promote his upcoming memoir, “Unscripted.” The book chronicles Hines’ new involvement in politics with RFK Jr., who is running for president in 2024, but she was not happy that the host of “The View” focused his questions on her husband’s current policies and relationship with President Donald Trump.
On Billy Bush’s “Hot Mikes” show Tuesday, Hines said he wished the questions were more “personal.”
“I was actually expecting it to be more personal on ‘The View,’ and it was. They just wanted to get on me about Bobby,” she said. “I mean, I don’t think the women on ‘The View’ asked any questions about my book, but that’s OK.”
During Hynes’ “View” interview, hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg acknowledged that it was “not fair” to “put her on the spot” about RFK Jr. and that it’s not her “battle to fight,” but questioned her about his views on vaccines and eligibility for health and human services roles.
The conversation became especially tense when Sunny Hostin claimed that RFK Jr. had “spread a lot of misinformation, a lot of confusion, a lot of confusion” and pointed out that Hines began to respond by saying, “He’s linking circumcision to autism.” Hines interjected, “Is that enough? Can we finish now?” Before Anthony Fauci claimed, “When I said that if you get vaccinated, you can’t get COVID-19, you can stop COVID-19, and that was false information.”
Mr. Behar asked Mr. Hines if RFK Jr. really had a brain parasite, easing the tension. Hines joked, “I just ate a little brain and died, so don’t worry!”
At the end of the interview, Goldberg emphasized the importance of welcoming others with different perspectives to the show and asked Hines to return. “It’s rare to find people on this show who can ask these questions, and I’m grateful they’re on this show,” Goldberg said. “Because, you know, if you can have the debate back and forth, it belongs to the people and they can decide what they believe and not just hear one side.”
Despite Hines’ comments about President Bush’s “Hot Mikes,” her rep told Entertainment Weekly that she still considers the appearance “a success.”
“Cheryl did so with respect and dignity as they repeatedly asked her to defend her husband. The purpose of her appearance, by the way, was to discuss her new memoir, Unscripted,” a representative told EW. “She didn’t care at all. You’d think living in a cave she wouldn’t make Bobby her main focus.”
A representative for Hynes previously told EW after the episode aired that Hynes was “not annoyed at all” and that it was a “great, balanced conversation.”
Representatives for “The View” did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
