Inside Caroline Kennedy's Relationship With RFK Jr.

Depending on who you ask, RFK Jr. is either going to "make America healthy again" or set in motion a series of events that will end in a nationwide health crisis. The rise of influencers in the health and wellness space has made the spreading of misinformation that much easier, and millions have started to question science-backed medicine, instead opting to believe in the snake oil many influencers are selling on the internet. Kennedy's claims about vaccine safety and America's food system have only intensified the doubts of those who are already suspicious, and his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, has had about enough of his shenanigans, it seems.

For those who believe Kennedy has good intentions, it's crucial to be aware that he still stands to benefit financially from the lawsuits brought against certain pharmaceutical companies as the Trump administration's health secretary. It was ahead of his confirmation hearing for the position that Kennedy's cousin broke her usual silence and penned a brutal letter to senators in an attempt to convince them that her cousin is the worst possible candidate for the job. "[He] preys on the desperation of parents and sick children," she wrote (via CBS News). She also had some harsh criticism for RFK regarding what she says is his exploitation of his family name and history. "[He] continues to grandstand off my father's assassination, and that of his own father," she penned (via People). She then added that her uncles Bobby and Teddy Kennedy would turn in their graves knowing what RFK is up to. "[They] would be disgusted," she wrote.

The letter revealed plenty about RFK and Caroline's relationship, and let's just say that these two definitely won't be sitting around singing "Kumbaya" together anytime soon.

Word on the street is that RFK Jr. and Caroline Kennedy have never quite seen eye to eye, mostly because the former has always been jealous of his cousin, according to insiders who spoke to People. The Kennedy family hit RFK where it hurts when they made it clear that they didn't support his 2024 presidential bid. His sister, Rory Kennedy, told CNN that her brother challenging Joe Biden for the nomination was "dangerous" and that he was hurting Biden's chances of winning, which could lead to a second term under Donald Trump, something the Kennedys did not want to see happen. When RFK pivoted and dropped his bid for the White House and instead endorsed Donald Trump, the Kennedy family released a joint statement in which they made it clear they were less than pleased with RFK's questionable decisions. "We believe in Harris and Walz," their statement read (via NBC News). "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story." Even though Caroline did not sign the statement, it's safe to assume she agreed with every word.

According to the insider who spoke to People, Caroline and RFK ended up being the remaining Kennedys battling it out in the political world (Caroline has served as U.S. ambassador twice during her career). But RFK has just never quite seemed able to keep up with his cousin, and it's caused some resentment. "Bobby Jr. basically wanted to be Caroline, but he never had the discipline, the gravitas or the intelligence or the discretion to do any of that," the source alleged.

In the brutal letter Caroline Kennedy penned to senators to discourage them from considering RFK Jr. as one of Donald Trump's controversial cabinet picks, she called her cousin a "predator." Not exactly a good look for a White House official-to-be. "Bobby is addicted to attention and power," Caroline warned. "[He] has gone on to misrepresent, lie, and cheat his way through life," she added. Caroline emphasized that her cousin has no medical background or knowledge nor does he have adequate experience for the position of health secretary.

"Bobby himself is a predator. He's always been charismatic, able to attract others through the strength of his personality, his willingness to take risks and break the rules," Caroline elaborated. She also cautioned senators that, if they're looking for a secretary who will work with medical advancements instead of hindering it, RFK is not the person for the job. Caroline touched on her cousin's anti-vaccine stance, explaining how he is set to profit from a lawsuit against the company producing the vaccine for the HPV virus, which causes cervical cancer. "He is willing to enrich himself by denying access to a vaccine that can prevent almost all forms of cervical cancer and which has been safely administered to millions of boys and girls," Caroline continued.

RFK was questioned about his cousin's claims during his confirmation hearing and denied his anti-vaccine stance. He blamed the media for misquoting him and claimed he meant vaccines aren't always safe for all people, depending on a myriad of factors, and that he didn't say they should be avoided entirely. "Bringing this up right now is dishonest," RFK said in response to Sen. Ron Wyden's ruthless questioning (via WCNC).

Aside from writing her cousin the worst character reference letter ever, Caroline Kennedy also took a jab at RFK Jr.'s treatment of animals in an attempt to discredit him even further. To bring home her point that her cousin is untrustworthy and uncaring, she brought up a gruesome incident that took place some years ago. "He enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks," Caroline revealed. She described the whole ordeal as "perverse." People didn't just have to take her word for it. A friend of RFK's shared a photograph with Vanity Fair of the 2024 presidential hopeful that was apparently taken in 2010. In the picture, RFK can be seen posing with a cooked carcass. The friend told the magazine that the politician told him it was a dog, suggesting he try the delicacy if he visits Korea.

RFK has responded to the allegations published by Vanity Fair, telling Breaking Points, "The article is a lot of garbage. The picture that they said is of me eating a dog is actually me eating a goat in Patagonia on a white water trip many years ago on the Futaleufú River." Initially, the Vanity Fair article quoted a veterinarian saying the carcass was most definitely that of a dog, but it was removed after Kennedy called out the magazine for their "lack of journalistic standards throughout [the] article" during an interview with Fox News.

RFK's daughter, Kick Kennedy, has also recalled her father's behavior toward animals during a 2012 interview with Town & Country, in which she recounted how he once cut off a beached whale's head with a chainsaw to study the mammal's bones.

Caroline Kennedy appears to blame RFK Jr. for some of the tragedy surrounding the Kennedy family. In the scathing letter she penned to senators, Caroline drudged up RFK Jr.'s past substance abuse and how she believed it led to the death of some of their family members. Even though she didn't mince her words, Caroline did seem to remember that, despite everything, RFK is still family, and she didn't rule out the possibility that people can change, even commending her cousin for trying to get his life back on track after he suffered "illness and disease," as she put it. "I admire the discipline that took and the continuing commitment it requires," Caroline said, but added, "[S]iblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death."

RFK Jr. addressed his past addiction in 2024 as he stepped into the political spotlight once again. "I became a drug addict when I was 15 years old," he admitted to podcaster Lex Fridman (via NPR). "I was addicted for 14 years. During that time, when you're an addict, you're living against conscience." He was also pretty candid about how heroin helped him perform in school during an interview on the "Shawn Ryan Show," saying he started using it as a means to self-medicate because he had a lot of difficulty when it came to sitting still and focusing on a task. "It worked for me. And if it still worked, I'd still be doing it," he told Ryan. Caroline was likely not very impressed with that statement.

Even when she was still the U.S. ambassador to Australia and not supposed to make any public political comments, Caroline Kennedy seemed unable to stop herself from telling reporters that her cousin RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine stance was of great concern (via The Guardian). "[Y]es, I think Bobby Kennedy's views on vaccines are dangerous," she told reporters. "[C]ertainly he's — you know, I grew up with him. So, I have known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him," she added cryptically. She then seemed to insinuate that RFK would dismantle all the hard work previous Kennedys had done to better America's healthcare system. "I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views," she clarified.

In her letter to senators, Caroline reminded government officials that, while RFK has been openly against vaccines, he had his own children vaccinated. When asked about this during his confirmation hearing, RFK found himself in a rather precarious situation, trying to convince senators at the hearing that he wasn't an anti-vaxxer, yet he'd said the opposite during various interviews, even saying he deeply regretted vaccinating his own children. "All of these things cannot be true," Sen. Ron Wyden said. RFK danced around the subject, giving Wyden a non-answer.

When it comes to the tragic details of RFK Jr.'s life, there is no shortage of incidents to list, but if you ask Caroline Kennedy, the most tragic thing about her cousin is the legacy he'll leave behind. She believes that he managed to destroy her father's good image, instead replacing it with controversy. "It also wasn't easy to remain silent last year when Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign — and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job," she lamented in her letter. She expressed her utter astonishment at her cousin's audacity to use her family's painful history to further his political career and aspirations.

RFK, of course, doesn't see things the same way his cousin does. When his family made it clear that they were supporting former President Joe Biden prior to him dropping out of the 2024 race, Kennedy took to X, formerly Twitter, to respond. "I am pleased they are politically active — it's a family tradition," he wrote. "We are divided in our opinions but united in our love for each other." Indeed, Caroline admitted in her letter to the senate that shedding light on the skeletons in her brother's closet wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to do. "We are a close family, and none of [this] is easy to say," she admitted. In his X post, RFK claimed that even though his family doesn't agree with him running for president, it doesn't change their love for each other. He encouraged his followers not to allow politics to divide them, indicating that his family wasn't allowing it to tear them apart. The same can perhaps not be said for his and Caroline's relationship.

Something most might not know about Caroline Kennedy is that she has a reputation for remaining mum on the Kennedy family drama, which made her scorching character reference for RFK Jr. all the more shocking. "She's so, so private and her speaking out — as harshly as she did — about her cousin is shocking," a source close to the Kennedy family told People. "[It's] a complete departure for her." In her letter, Caroline explained her yearslong silence, saying her role as ambassador prevented her from speaking freely and that she simply had no desire to air her family's dirty laundry. Her cousin's nomination for health secretary, however, made her realize she couldn't remain quiet any longer. "I feel an obligation to speak out," she said.

Caroline's very outspoken public letter caused quite a stir in the Kennedy family if sources are to be believed. One such source who spoke People said the family is "in tatters." "[B]oth [Caroline] and her mother were known for just not speaking to the press, ever," they added. Apparently, Caroline had taken tips from her mother, former first lady Jackie Kennedy, whose motto was "never complain, never explain," according to sources. Caroline's decision to break her years-long silence was apparently encouraged by her son, Jack Schlossberg, who has made his feelings on RFK's support of Trump painfully clear.

While Caroline has been pretty candid about her feelings toward RFK, the latter has yet to respond publicly to his cousin's scathing character review as of this writing. One thing's for sure, however: Caroline and RFK's relationship might be irreparably damaged.