Robert F Kennedy Jr's biggest controversies – from tap water and brain worms to Covid vaccine row

In the latest twist in the Kennedy political story, has landed a key role in's administration.

The nephew of ex-President John F Kennedy and son of Robert F Kennedy - who were both assassinated - has carved out a following of his own among angry conspiracy theorists. He was one of the loudest voices sharing Covid vaccine misinformation during the pandemic. The 70-year-old stood as an independent presidential candidate, but later dropped out and endorsed Trump.

There is heavy speculation that he will have a chance to influence vaccination policy, which could have a devastating impact on the rest of the after Trump appointed him as his incoming health secretary. Here the looks at some of his most controversial moments.

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Vaccine conspiracy theories

Kennedy comes from possibly the most illustrious political family, son of former United States senator and attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, who also earned the 1968 Democratic Party presidential nominee before his assassination that same year, and nephew of 35th American president John F. Kennedy.

The 70-year-old has strayed further from Democratic orthodoxy than his family members, however, rising to political prominence in 2020 for his scepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine. "I think some of the live virus vaccines are probably averting more problems than they’re causing," Kennedy said on The Lex Friedman Podcast in 2023. "There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective."

Public health experts have pointed to Kennedy’s pivotal role in spreading false information and sowing fear around the about vaccines, as well as conspiracy theories about like 5G. While there are rare instances when people have severe reactions to vaccines, the billions of doses administered globally provide real-world evidence that they are safe. The World Health Organization says vaccines prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.

Dead bear cub in Central Park

Kennedy Jr one of the last vestiges of the Kennedy dynasty, became a left-field third-party candidate this year and quickly rose to prominence, scooping an estimated one percent of the national vote. His campaign, while successful in some pockets, has turned out to be one of the weirdest features of the race as a whole.

It was later reported - but never confirmed - during the campaign that Kennedy ate a dog, beheaded a dead whale, and kept a freezer full of road kill. Kennedy himself later admitted to dumping the body of a bear cub in New York City's Central Park.

Brain worm and heroin use

The New York Times revealed in May that it had showing doctors found a small but full worm that had died in his brain and come to settle in a pocket of grey matter. He claimed he had contracted the worm from food he ate in South Asia, claiming it ate part of his brain which led to long-lasting “brain fog.”

The Kennedy family has cited his 14-year-long use of heroin from the age of 15, Vanity Fair noted. One relative shared a National Institutes of Health report stating that sustained heroin use may change the physiology of the brain and create “long-term imbalances in neuronal and hormonal systems that are not easily reversed.”

Ex-nanny alleges sexual assault

Eliza Cooney, a former part-time nanny for Kennedy who worked for him from 1998 to 1999, claimed in a Vanity Fair article Kennedy touched her inappropriately in his kitchen. In the podcast Kennedy first refused to address the charge of sexual assault directly, instead brushing it off as one of "the other allegations" involving a "very, very rambunctious youth."

Tap water conspiracy

Kennedy Jr. is sharing one initiative is said to be planning if elected president. In a post on X Kennedy wrote that Trump, and his administration will remove fluoride from drinking water if he wins he 2024 presidential election, before falsely claiming that fluoride is harmful. “

On Jan. 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with , bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” Kennedy wrote.

Fluoride is widely considered one of the biggest public health breakthroughs of the 20th century. In a statement shared in October, the American Dental Association said that they, along with other major health organizations "continue to endorse community water fluoridation at optimal levels to help prevent tooth decay