Cheryl Hines, best known for her Hollywood career and now the spouse of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has discovered that entering the political spotlight carries a far heavier weight than the entertainment world ever demanded.
According to Fox News, while speaking Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Hines reflected on the backlash she has faced since shifting from acting to defending her husband’s role in the Trump administration.
“In Hollywood… I didn’t experience that [level of criticism],” she said. “It would be on a different level, right? You have a movie, it comes out, it’s joyful… There might be some chatter… But politics is next level.”
Her comments came after a tense October appearance on ABC’s “The View,” where she clashed with co-host Sunny Hostin over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is qualified to lead HHS.
Hostin asserted that Kennedy was “the least qualified Department of Health and Human Services head that we’ve had in history.”
Hines pushed back, arguing that her husband has dedicated his life to public health. “He has spent his career fighting for people’s health,” she said. She also noted that “90% of the HHS secretaries have not been doctors. And one of them was an economist.”
During the interview, Hines said she focused on keeping the discussion calm rather than escalating the disagreement.
“When tensions run high, I try to keep things calm and really try to connect with someone,” she explained. “People put up their barriers, and they don’t really want to listen… I was just trying to listen.”
She added that understanding opposing viewpoints is essential, even when conversations become uncomfortable.
“I want to understand why someone thinks the way they do and engage with them over facts,” Hines said. “But… some people don’t want to engage that way.”
Hines acknowledged that her husband’s political role has cost her relationships.
“I have friends I haven’t spoken to since the election,” she admitted.
She said Kennedy once enjoyed significant support in Hollywood when he worked as an environmental attorney, but the shift into politics changed the tone.
“He had a lot of support… but when he turned to politics to more directly make a difference in public health, it has been a different reception,” Hines said, adding that reactions often hinge on how people feel about President Donald Trump.
For Hines, the transition from scripts to strategy has been a lesson in how fiercely divided the political landscape has become — and how much tougher the criticism can be outside the film set.
