How a beloved TV star became Hollywood’s liberal public enemy number one

There is a wedding photo from 2014 that has recently gone viral and understandably so. On the left is the former independent presidential candidate-turned-new Donald Trump supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who is smiling with the joy of the new-found wedding, with his ill-felt tilt at the presidency without even a glimmer remote in his eyes. .

In the center is his new bride, Cheryl Hines, an actress best known for her role in Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David’s estranged wife Cheryl, who is smiling widely but also nervously into the camera. And David sits himself on the right, his expression of insanity disturbing seems to suggest that Hines’ real-life union will be just as doomed as the one in her sitcom.

Ten years later, RFK Jr. is – as he likes – still married to Hines, but their marriage has come under severe strain, to say nothing of public scrutiny, since the Kennedy scion first announced he would run. for the presidency. in 2023. Although his campaign of eccentricity was often widely ridiculed, not least because he publicly claimed that part of his brain had been eaten by a worm and that he once dumped the body of a bear pole in a New York park after taking photos with him. it was surprising that he supported Trump.

He described the former president as a “terrible person”, “probably a sociopath” and a “disdain for democracy”, and declared that he would “under no circumstances” join Trump’s presidential campaign, given the diversity in their politics. ; as recently as 2016, he supported Hillary Clinton over Trump who eventually won.

Kennedy Jr, at least, has agency in his decisions, but his wife has now been placed in an almost impossible position. If she continues to support her husband, she will now become a member of that unpopular band of Hollywood Trump supporters. But if she comes out and denies her support for the Republican presidential candidate, her home life may become very dire. Most celebrity unions have their share of risks and difficulties, but very few are as fraught as this.

The public statement that Hines put out on X can be seen as an attempt to destroy everyone simultaneously. Calling Kennedy Jr’s presidential run – which she called, in a pithy print, his ‘presidency’ – an “eye-opening, transformative and inspiring journey”, she praised those who worked on her campaign, writing: “They have achieved feats that were said to be impossible. They have collected over a million signatures, more than any candidate in history, and have achieved ballot access across the country despite the roadblocks and lawsuits brought against them to keep Bobby off the ballots and so no one would even. opportunity to vote for him.”

Describing Kennedy Jr’s decision to run on the principle of “unity”, she concluded “My experience is that the vast majority of all parties are really good people who want the best for our country and for each other .”

Unfortunately for Hines, many of these “real” people are very much against her. Actor Bradley Whitford, who starred in The West Wing and is known for his liberal and progressive politics, was particularly bold. “Hey, @CherylHines, way to stay silent while your lunatic husband throws his support behind the convicted rapist who brags about depriving women of their basic rights,” he tweeted. “Short. A great example for the children.” He jokingly referred to Kennedy Jr JFK’s uncle’s famous 1956 book about the courageous acts of American Senators in his tweet, ending “Profile in courage”.

And while most actors have remained silent on the matter, Hines is now under attack. One wit, mocking her use of the word ‘president’, wrote, “I didn’t realize he was a president. Or in your brain that the worms ate, maybe it was already.”

Other social media users have been quick to confide in Hines. “You sleepy,” one complained. “I can’t even enjoy Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes with you in them anymore”, while another declared, deliberately mixing fact and fiction or acting confused, “No wonder you’re divorced Larry.” There were also many statements of support for Hines, but these came almost exclusively from Trump supporters.

David himself has not commented on the current circumstances of his screen wife, but as one of the most senior liberals in Hollywood, his disdain for Trump may have been given. But of more interest than usual are the actor and caretaker’s comments on Hines and RFK Jr; After all, David was involved in their relationship, having introduced them in the first place.

As Kennedy Jr put it in an interview earlier this year, he felt it would be disrespectful to date David’s “TV wife” without permission, so he met David at a hotel to discuss matters. The affable comedian, Kennedy Jr recalled, was “very happy” about their relationship and told him Cheryl was “the best person he’d ever met” and she was the only one. [person] in Hollywood they didn’t have a single enemy.” When he spoke to Hines about the relationship, David was a little more blunt. “That will never work.”

The very friendly Hines now regularly apologize on behalf of her husband. At an anti-vaccination rally in 2022, RFK disputed the statement: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland, you could hide in the attic like Anne Frank.” Hines took to Twitter: “My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandated rally in DC was incomprehensible and insensitive,” she said. “They do not reflect my own views.” (She later expressed regret about this, saying “If I had it to do over again, would I use such strong words? I probably wouldn’t.”)

She was also consistent in her disdain for RFK Jr.’s new alliance. “Even when Trump was elected, I had to have a long talk with myself because I thought, ‘I’m not going to make it through these four years”, and joking about that, in case Trump attacked her husband on the horizon. campaign track, “I’ll be in Greece. No reception. That’s my plan.”

For example, the attacks came from the Democratic side rather than the Republicans. Kennedy Jr’s own family criticized his decision to support Trump as “a betrayal of our father’s and our family’s greatest values” and implicitly cast him out of the family, saying it was “a sad end to a story sad” is. And sure enough, Hines has consistently defended her husband, even when asked about her more baroque conspiracy theories. “You’d think you’d see the world through a different lens if you saw your uncle being assassinated, and then your father,” she said, with reason.

She is now in an impossible and unbelievable situation. Before that, she emphasized that she prevented Kennedy Jr. from dating the likes of Steve Bannon and Alex Jones. “Bobby will talk to anyone and wants to connect with everyone. I understand where he’s coming from,” she said. “But I also have my limits.” Larry David was asked if his friendship with both Hines and Kennedy Jr could be an endorsement, which led to this perfect response: “I love and support [Bobby]but I’m not ‘supporting’ it.”

Hines has no such luxury. “I’ve learned a lot in the last two years,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in early 2024. “I pay less attention to social media. There is a cycle to news. Things happen, they talk about it for a day or two, then they move on. And so I learned to stay out of it because my words live on. And because Bobby is my husband. And I wouldn’t want to hurt Bobby. I love it.”

Even when the controversy ends, Hines will likely be remembered for one of her husband’s comments in particular. If he took a job as Trump’s running mate, he said, “that would be devastating to my marriage.” His wife replied pointedly: “I think Bobby knows me well.”

More than any scene with Larry David, the coming months may be the true test of his acting skills.