Chris Pratt praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, and people on the internet are not impressed. The actor is loosely connected to Kennedy Jr., who is his wife Katherine Schwarzenegger’s cousin through her mother, Maria Shriver.
Featured VideoPratt described his time with the politician at family gatherings as warm and enjoyable. He recalled several dinners where he “got along with him well” and called him “funny” and “great.” Furthermore, he emphasized that his opinion came from personal interactions, not political discussions.
Pratt distances himself from politics
During the interview, Pratt insisted that he avoided political debates with Kennedy Jr. Although Kennedy Jr. has taken controversial positions, Pratt claimed he never engaged with him on those topics. Instead, he suggested he simply assumed many negative claims about Kennedy Jr. were false.
AdvertisementPratt said he has “spent a number of occasions hanging with him, just in a strictly family dinner kind of vibe.” The actor went on to say, “I really got along with him well. I think he’s great. I think he’s funny. I like him. I love him.”
Moreover, Pratt argued that Hollywood itself was a political arena. He said his own experience showed how public narratives often distort reality. According to Pratt, politics creates enemies, and those enemies exaggerate or misrepresent individuals. Consequently, he stated he would not “be mired in this story.”
“I’d hate to be so mired in hatred for the president that any success from his administration is something I’d be having an allergic reaction to. To be like, ‘Oh, well, if they do it, I don’t want it to happen. I’ll put Clorox in my children’s cereal myself!’ Be reasonable here. There’s certain things that would be a good thing to have. I want them all to be successful,” Pratt said.
RFK Jr.’s controversial record
Kennedy Jr.’s record as Health and Human Services Secretary has drawn widespread criticism. In early August, he cut $500 million in vaccine research funding, a move that former Surgeon General Jerome Adams said is would cost lives. Kennedy Jr. has also been accused of spreading anti-vaccine rhetoric and making harmful remarks about autistic people. Pratt told Maher he doesn’t speak to RFK Jr. about his role in President Trump’s administration.
Advertisement“I’ve been able to see how the person that you are can be sometimes in stark contrast to the person that your enemy is saying that you are,” he said. “And in politics, you inherit enemies. And when you jump on the bandwagon with who is the most divisive president ever, it makes sense that you’re going to be made to look terrible. And so I don’t know what to believe.”
Importantly, Kennedy Jr.’s own family has distanced itself from him. Caroline Kennedy condemned him earlier this year, calling him “unqualified” and “dangerous” in a Senate letter opposing his confirmation.
Social media calls out Pratt’s defense of RFK Jr.
Once news of the podcast surfaced, folks on social media reacted quickly. Many criticized Pratt for defending Kennedy Jr. despite his harmful record. On X, one person wrote, “My nonprofit paid for the final year of a girl’s graduate degree because his family member, RFK Jr., stopped the NIH grant funding that was paying for her research. F*ck Chris Pratt and RFK Jr.”
AdvertisementOthers mocked Pratt’s history of controversial remarks. One post on BlueSky read, “breaking: person you already had plenty of legitimate reason to dislike has added yet more legitimate reasons to the mix.”
“I see that the ‘Least Favorite Chris’ title still holds up,” wrote u/A_Stark23 on Reddit. “Andy from Parks and Rec seems like an entirely different actor at this point. Who even is this guy anymore?” questioned u/thefifthvenom.
Another commenter on Reddit said, “Chris Pratt genuinely seems like one of the dumbest people in show business.”
u/EauxMan added, “He’s smart enough to hide how he really feels from the general public but his actions and words have proved time and time again he’s just another brainwashed idiot. Love to see people with all the money and opportunity in the world buy into rhetoric that exists just to harm people who don’t look like them, f*ck this guy.”
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