Additional Coverage:
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has responded to accusations of sexual assault made by a former babysitter by stating, “I am not a church boy.” During an appearance on the “Breaking Points” podcast, Kennedy addressed the claims published in a Vanity Fair article which cited the former babysitter, Eliza Cooney, alleging an assault at his home in 1998.
Kennedy dismissed the article, calling it “a lot of garbage” and expressed that his youthful days were quite wild. He mentioned, “I am not a church boy.
I’m not pretending to be. I openly acknowledged in my campaign announcement that I’ve lived a life so full of questionable incidents that, jokingly, if all my skeletons could vote, I’d be emperor of the planet.”
He criticized Vanity Fair for dredging up decades-old stories and remained elusive when directly asked to deny the accusations, only stating, “I’m not going to comment on it.”
According to Vanity Fair, Cooney, now 48, did not disclose the alleged assault until the emergence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, when she first confided in her mother. After Kennedy announced his presidential bid in 2023, she also shared her story with two friends and a lawyer.
Cooney describes her experience working as a live-in nanny in 1998 at Kennedy’s then-home in Mount Kisco, New York. She recounted uncomfortable encounters, including an instance where Kennedy, appearing shirtless, asked her to apply lotion on his back while his then-wife was presumably home. Another incident involved Kennedy allegedly groping her, leading to feelings of shock and discomfort.
Kennedy, who is the son of former attorney general and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, has recently reaffirmed his commitment to his controversial views despite significant public criticism from many of his notable family members. He remains confident in his campaign, claiming, “I am in a position that no independent has been in history,” confidently declaring that he could decisively defeat Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The Independent has contacted Kennedy’s campaign for further comments.