RFK Jr. Accused of Severing Raccoon's Penis for Later Study in Bizarre Biography Claims
A new biography of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleges he once severed the penis of a roadkill raccoon to study it later, according to purported diary entries obtained by the author. The book, RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise by New York Post journalist Isabel Vincent, describes the incident as occurring in 2001 while Kennedy was driving with his family on a highway.
Alleged Diary Entry Details Strange Highway Stop
According to Vincent's account, Kennedy wrote in a diary entry: "I was standing in front of my parked car on I-684 cutting the penis out of a road killed raccoon, thinking about how weird some of my family members have turned out to be." The entry reportedly adds: "My kids waited patiently in the car." Vincent told People magazine that Kennedy took the raccoon's organs to "study them later," explaining his childhood aspiration to become a veterinarian and his after-school job at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
History of Bizarre Animal Encounters
This allegation joins a long list of strange incidents involving Kennedy and animals:
- In 2024, Kennedy admitted to leaving a dead bear cub in New York City's Central Park a decade earlier, making it appear the animal had been hit by a bike. He claimed he planned to skin the bear and refrigerate the meat.
- His daughter Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy told Town & Country magazine in 2012 that RFK Jr. once used a chainsaw to decapitate a whale carcass that washed ashore near the family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, then strapped the head to the car for a five-hour drive.
- Caroline Kennedy, his cousin, claimed in a letter to the Senate that he blended chicks and mice in a college dorm room to feed a pet falcon.
Kennedy has publicly stated: "I've been picking up roadkill my whole life. I have a freezer full of it." He follows a carnivore diet, eating mostly meat and fermented foods, and was a prominent environmentalist and anti-vaccine activist before taking office.
Controversial Tenure at Health and Human Services
During Kennedy's tenure as Health Secretary, the department has faced accusations of promoting anti-vaccine messaging, pressuring top scientists, and making scientifically unsupported claims linking painkillers to rising autism diagnoses. The Independent has contacted HHS for comment on the biography's allegations, but no response has been provided at this time.
The biography's revelations add to the ongoing scrutiny of Kennedy's unconventional behavior and professional conduct, highlighting both his personal eccentricities and the controversies surrounding his leadership in public health policy.
