Cheryl Hines and the friendships cracking under RFK Jr.’s political gravity
cheryl hines is at the center of two separate, newly resurfaced accounts that point to the same underlying tension: personal relationships strained, and sometimes severed, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved further into the political spotlight. Comedian Tig Notaro says her long friendship with cheryl hines became one-sided and ultimately ended, while Chelsea Handler describes a bitter experience tied to a Los Angeles home she says she bought from Kennedy—an ordeal that even included notes from Cheryl Hines offering help.
What did Tig Notaro say happened with Cheryl Hines—and when did it shift?
On MS NOW’s The Best People podcast with host Nicolle Wallace, Tig Notaro said she had to “shake myself out of denial” and accept that her friendship with Cheryl Hines was “good and over. ” Notaro described moving past “confusion and sadness, ” framing the end as gradual but decisive: Cheryl Hines would respond to messages “very pleasantly, ” yet stopped initiating contact altogether.
Notaro tied the turning point to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s growing political momentum. She said she decided to remove herself from the Tig and Cheryl: True Story podcast as Kennedy’s campaign accelerated and his ideals clashed with her own. Notaro also described a change in her public life: people interrupting her stand-up shows and yelling comments about Kennedy. She recalled telling Cheryl Hines that even if it was a small percentage of audience members, it was not her world and she did not want to be part of it. Notaro said Cheryl Hines replied, “I understand. ”
Notaro added that Cheryl Hines continued the podcast for a time with comedian Rachael Harris, a move Notaro said she was fine with. The show later stopped recording altogether, with Notaro describing the experience as painful in part because the original collaboration had produced some of her “deepest, hardest laughs. ”
Cheryl Hines, RFK Jr., and the competing narratives about who walked away
Notaro said it was especially upsetting to see interviews in which the fallout is framed as Notaro being the one who cut ties. In a November conversation on Howie Mandel Does Stuff, Cheryl Hines said she did not hold anything against Notaro, describing distance as something Notaro felt she needed “for herself. ” In that same exchange, the host said Cheryl Hines had not spoken to Notaro “lately, ” and Cheryl Hines said that when things felt like “a lot” for Notaro, there was not much she could do “other than leave my husband. ”
Notaro’s version stresses that she continued reaching out with support because she did not know what was happening “behind closed doors, ” and because she felt things had shifted “very severely. ” The moment of realization, she said, came when she noticed a pattern: Cheryl Hines would respond, but never initiate. “She responds to me, but she doesn’t reach out to me, ” Notaro said, adding that she eventually accepted, “OK, I need to let this go. ”
Notaro’s earlier comments on the Breaking Bread With Tom Papa podcast also sharpened the conflict. She criticized what she called vague framing about disagreement “within a marriage, ” comparing the phrase “we don’t agree on everything” to minor household disputes, and said the situation had reached a point where it was “not my world” and “a hard pass. ” She also said, “You’re OKing a particular ride for this country to go on, ” describing her discomfort with where the dynamic had led.
How does Chelsea Handler’s house dispute intersect with Cheryl Hines?
A separate account from Chelsea Handler adds another flashpoint connected to Kennedy—this time through a home purchase. On the Wednesday, March 4 episode of her Dear Chelsea podcast, Handler said she bought a Los Angeles house five years ago that she later discovered had belonged to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Handler said she still had not lived in the home, describing it as so damaged that professionals told her it was “the most toxic environment” and that she could not live there “for at least two years. ” She said she did not know she was buying the house from Kennedy when she purchased it.
Handler described the ordeal as a “disaster, ” alleging the home lacked a proper foundation and that an outdoor storage unit on the property was illegal and had to be removed. She also said that multiple people who came to the property told her the home was “cursed. ”
In recounting the experience, Handler said Cheryl Hines left notes saying, “let us know if there’s anything we can do for you. ” Handler then delivered a pointed rejoinder about wanting a foundation. Handler added she had “her own issues with RFK” and called him “one of the worst people, ” though she ended the segment with a quip that she was “totally over it. ”
Handler’s comments also referenced Kennedy’s controversial public positions, including his anti-vaccine stance and his warning that pregnant women should not take Tylenol, claiming it could cause autism. Tylenol’s parent company, Kenvue, disputed that claim to, saying independent science shows acetaminophen does not cause autism, adding it strongly disagreed with any suggestion otherwise and was concerned about health risk to expecting mothers.
In both accounts, Cheryl Hines is depicted not as the primary instigator but as a consequential presence: in Notaro’s story, as the friend who stopped reaching out while her spouse’s politics surged; in Handler’s, as the person who offered help after a transaction tied to Kennedy turned rancorous. Together, the narratives show how the same political figure can exert pressure across entirely different arenas—creative partnerships, private friendships, and even personal property disputes—leaving cheryl hines positioned at the intersection of public scrutiny and intimate fallout.
