Kerry Kennedy says her brother, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., once caused chaos at a child’s birthday party by tossing a snake into a swimming pool full of children.
Kennedy Jr., 72, has long drawn attention for unusual encounters with animals. Most recently, he made headlines after posting a video of himself handling two snakes with his bare hands on Dr. Oz’s patio.
Speaking to CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday, Kerry Kennedy, 66, recalled an incident at her daughter’s birthday party in which a snake was spotted in the garden. She said she called her brother for help, and he arrived carrying a pillowcase and his infant son, Aidan.
According to Kerry, her brother caught the snake and forced it into the pillowcase while still holding the baby. “So, that was a little scary,” she said.
She went on to describe what happened next: Kennedy Jr. walked over to the main party area, where children had gathered near the pool, and reached into the bag as the snake bit down on his hand.
“He pulled out the snake to show the kids,” Kerry said, describing a scene that quickly turned into alarm as the reptile was brought into the middle of the celebration.
That’s when Kerry said the situation took a disturbing turn, and Kennedy allegedly fed a vole to the snake, then threw the snake into the pool.
‘Then there was a vole, and he grabbed that with his hand, and he put it into the bag with the snake, which made all the kids scream because now they were afraid the snake would eat the vole,’ she said.
RFK Jr recently made headlines for sharing a video of himself wrangling two snakes bare-handed on Dr Oz’s patio
His sister, Kerry Kennedy, claimed that he once captured a snake at her daughter’s birthday party, then threw it into a swimming pool filled with kids
‘So then he shoved his hand back into the pillowcase and grabbed the snake, which chomped on him a few more times.
‘There were tons of kids in the swimming pool, and he released this snake that had chomped on his hand into the swimming pool.’
Kerry, who has been critical of her brother’s role as Health and Human Services Secretary, said the anecdote shows he is unfit for the position.
‘This is somebody who, on the one hand, has a fascination with nature, but on the other hand has, you know, a lack of judgment when it comes to the safety and care of children,’ she said.
‘Is this the person who you want running HHS who’s got this lack of judgment when it comes to health and safety?’
The Daily Mail contacted Kennedy’s office for comment.
Kennedy has a long history of outlandish behavior with wild animals and has posted numerous photos and videos over the years of himself interacting with the creatures.
In May, he shared a video of himself catching two snakes with his bare hands while his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, squealed as she watched on.
The Health and Human Services Secretary has a history of bizarre interactions with wild animals, and has acknowledged that he had left a dead bear cub in Central Park
The video showed Kennedy, in suit pants and a tie, chasing two black snakes before snatching them up with his bare hands.
Dr Oz can be heard saying: ‘They’re having sex!’
Kennedy sarcastically told his audience that the snakes were moccasins, more commonly known as cottonmouths, to which his wife yelled: ‘Those are dangerous!’
He added that the snakes were biting him as Hines continued to beg her husband to release the writhing reptiles.
‘You are nuts!’ she continued, adding, ‘Honey, honey, let it go. I can’t watch. Bobby, please. Bobby, please!’
Dr Oz was heard laughing in the background as Hines grew increasingly distraught. Kennedy appeared unbothered by his wife’s concern and laughed as the snakes tried to bite him. Black racer snakes are not venomous.
During his presidential campaign in 2024, Kennedy acknowledged that he had left a dead bear cub in Central Park ten years earlier.
According to another story from his daughter Kick, Kennedy brought home the head of a whale carcass while they were vacationing in Cape Cod, the Kennedys’ longtime go-to summer destination. He allegedly cut the head off with a chainsaw and strapped it to the roof of the family’s car.
And according to a recently published biography, Kennedy confessed in a diary entry that he once cut the genitals off a raccoon carcass he found on the side of the road so he could ‘study them.’
