An exclusive Vanity Fair report published on Tuesday, July 2, made several claims against Independent presidential candidate Robert. F. Kennedy Jr. The article outlines allegations of sexual assault on his family babysitter to accusations of sending pictures of nude women to friends and sharing a photo of a barbecued dog carcass.
Former Kennedy babysitter Eliza Cooney told Vanity Fair that Kennedy sexually assaulted her in 1998 when she was 23-years-old. She described an instance where he caressed her leg and another where groped and fondled her. She also said that Kennedy, who was 45 at the time, asked her to rub lotion on his back while he was shirtless.
Cooney said she came close to publicizing her accusations against RFK Jr. in 2017 during the #MeToo Movement and again after he decided to run for president in 2023. Although she ultimately decided against a civil suit against Kennedy, she is sharing her story now.
The new report also alleged that Kennedy sent a picture of himself and a woman with a dog’s remains in Korea to a friend. Kennedy allegedly told the friend he should try dog while he’s in Asia. The friend told Vanity Fair that he found the picture insensitive to Korean culture and unsettling.
Kennedy also reportedly sent pictures of naked women to friends during his first marriage.
The accusations come at a time when the presidential race between President Joe Biden and former President Trump is heating up, just months ahead of the general election. RFK Jr. currently finds himself far behind the two front-runners. Polls show that he is hovering at 8.3% support among registered voters.
However, family members interviewed by Vanity Fair expressed fear that his run could cost President Biden the election.
Some family members reportedly pressured Kennedy to drop out of the race or wait until 2028 to run.
RFK Jr. responded to the allegations leveled in Vanity Fair in several interviews on Tuesday.
“The article is a lot of garbage. The picture that they said is of me eating a dog is actually me eating a goat in Patagonia on a whiteboard trip many years ago on the Futafeufu River,” Kennedy said during an interview with “Breaking Points.”
He also appeared on Fox News to address the controversial photo and accused Vanity Fair of false analysis.
“Vanity Fair said that they talked to veterinarians who assured them that it was a dog,” Kennedy said. “That they had meta-analysis that showed it was in Korea and it was in Korea of me eating a dog and that statement is emblematic of the entire article or the lack of journalistic standards throughout the article.”
When pressed on the sexual assault allegations by “Breaking Points” he sidestepped the question. Kennedy simply said, “I’m not going to comment on it.”
Kennedy also said during his response that he is “no church boy” and that he has openly admitted to having “many skeletons” from his past.
