Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was given a new nickname after appearing heavily-tanned at at a Senate hearing on Friday. 

The Health and Human Services secretary was humorously dubbed a ‘Microwaved Mel Gibson’, with many claiming that the health secretary bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hollywood actor.

Posts mocking Kennedy’s tan complexion have gotten hundreds of thousands of engagements on X.

The earliest mention of this nickname appears to date back to February, but it has gained renewed attention following Kennedy’s controversial Senate appearance this week.

‘I heard someone refer to Kennedy as a microwaved version of Mel Gibson, I am still laughing,’ one person wrote on X.

‘Whoever said he looked like “microwaved Mel Gibson” should be given a Pulitzer,’ another wrote.

‘Microwaved Mel Gibson! I’m dying! Regardless that they look like twins, they are both worthless,’ a third commented.

One person even photoshopped Kennedy over Gibson’s character in the movie poster for the 1995 film Braveheart.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being called ‘Microwaved Mel Gibson’ on social media. Many believe the two are doppelgangers 

One person even photoshopped Kennedy over Gibson’s character in the movie poster for the 1995 film Braveheart

Gibson, like Kennedy, is associated with the MAGA movement, having been appointed a special ambassador to Hollywood in January alongside actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight.

Liberal frustration with Kennedy peaked this week after he was called before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

During the Senate session, Kennedy faced tough questioning on various issues, including his views on vaccines, autism, Medicaid, and the state of the Centers for Disease Control.

Major points of debate included his dismissal of essential CDC vaccine advisors, his firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez just a month into her role, and his decision to significantly narrow the eligibility for the latest COVID-19 vaccines.

Democratic senators were especially critical of Kennedy, eight months into his position as health secretary, with Sen. Ron Wyden questioning him about his past connections with Jeffrey Epstein.

‘Mr. Kennedy calls himself a protector of children, some kind of rich claim, coming from someone who has flown on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet on multiple occasions,’ Wyden noted. 

However, Republicans too showed their frustration with Kennedy at times, especially Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. 

Cassidy, a doctor specializing in liver diseases, was the decisive vote that got Kennedy over the finish line in his confirmation hearings back in February.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana had some of the harshest criticism for Kennedy at Thursday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing of all the Republicans

‘Do you agree with me that President Trump deserves a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed?’ Cassidy asked Kennedy, referring to the public-private partnership between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies that produced a COVID-19 vaccine in record time.

‘Absolutely, senator,’ Kennedy responded.

Cassidy then pressed Kennedy on supposedly contradicting himself.

‘But you just told Sen. Bennet that the COVID vaccine killed more people than COVID?’ Cassidy said.

‘Wait, I did not say that,’ Kennedy blurted out in protest. ‘I just want to make clear, I did not say that.’

During his exchange with Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kennedy said that the mRNA vaccine has been linked to myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescent and young adult males.

These are both conditions that cause inflammation in the heart, and if it goes untreated, symptoms can begin to mimic a heart attack.

Medical experts agree that the Pfizer and Moderna cases have led to rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, but most health organizations agree that the vast majority of these cases are mild and very treatable.

Kennedy had one of the most contentious back-and-forths with Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado (pictured on the far right)

Cassidy also asked Kennedy about his participation in lawsuits that aimed to restrict access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

‘It surprises me that you think so highly of Operation Warp Speed when, as an attorney, you attempted to restrict access.’

RFK again sought to clear the air, ‘I’m happy to explain why…’

Cassidy cut him off, saying he only had three minutes left for his questioning.

As health secretary, Kennedy canceled $500 million of mRNA vaccine research, claiming that 22 projects he terminated failed to ‘protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu’.

In December 2021, Kennedy claimed that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was ‘the deadliest vaccine ever made’.