Key Points
Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines appeared on The View in October.
The actress fielded multiple cohost criticisms aimed at her husband, RFK Jr.
Hines told Bill Maher in a new interview that people are “still talking about” her View segment.
Cheryl Hines‘ enthusiasm might be just a tiny bit curbed while looking back on her October interview on The View.
The actress and Unscripted author suggested to Bill Maher in a new podcast conversation that she’s surprised the interview is still a topic of media scrutiny, despite the 60-year-old speaking about it in at least two subsequent interviews — one with Billy Bush, and another with former View panelist Meghan McCain.
After Maher wrote an unspecified past editorial that he said criticized both the political left and right, he told Hines he was disappointed that many outlets only covered his critiques of liberal-leaning politics.
“Well, and it goes both ways,” Hines told Maher, rolling her eyes as she continued. “Because, by the way, with my niece Kailey, we were looking at headlines and whatever. And some people are still talking about The View.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines
Hines appeared on the talk show in early October to promote her new memoir. While there, the cohosts — particularly left-leaning panelists Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg — voiced concerns over the qualifications of her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the Department of Health and Human Services after being nominated by President Donald Trump.
During the interview, Goldberg told Hines that her husband is “not a doctor,” while Hostin accused RFK Jr. of spreading misinformation to the American people from his post and beyond.
“It’s interesting, the coverage of that appearance on The View, because a big part of people’s criticism of Bobby is he’s not a medical doctor,” Hines said. “And on The View, I said 90 percent of secretaries of HHS have not been medical doctors.”
She added that “you can see when somebody prints an article, if they don’t print my response, but just print whoever said your husband’s not qualified, he’s not even a doctor” — a clear reference to Goldberg’s words on the talk show.
“You see, oh, okay, they’re only printing that side,” Hines continued. “They’re not printing the response. It’s just like what you were talking about.”
During the View conversation, Goldberg told Hines that “some of the things he’s suggested take it out of the hands of my doctor, and me and my OB-GYN and me, and I wonder, does it give you pause and are you able to say that might not actually be so, because I’ve got my experience and I’ve lived with this, and I’m still here. Are you able to have those conversations with him?” Hines replied that she felt like she could openly have such discussions with her spouse.
Hines went on to say that “90 percent of secretaries of the HHS have not been doctors,” with Hostin countering by saying, “But they’ve had a science background.” Hines clapped back that “one of Obama’s secretaries of HHS was an economist” in the position.
“The problem, respectfully, is that your husband is the least-qualified Department of Health and Human Services head that we’ve had in history,” Hostin responded. “I think that’s very dangerous.”
Despite Hines telling Bush that the cohosts “just wanted to grill” her about her husband and that she was “actually hoping that it was going to be more personal on The View” than the conversation they had on the air, a representative for the star told Entertainment Weekly after the interview that Hines was pleased with the discussion.
The representative said Hines “wasn’t annoyed at all” despite asking Hostin to let her finish her thought during a particularly tense moment, and that “it was a great, balanced conversation” in the end.
When reached for comment about Hines’ differing subsequent comments on Bush’s talk show, Hot Mics, the same rep told EW in an email that they stood by their original comment.
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“Cheryl engaged with respect and class, in light of them asking her repeatedly to defend her husband, which by the way was not the purpose of her appearance, it was to discuss her new memoir Unscripted,” the representative wrote at the time. “She was completely unbothered, as one would have to be living in a cave to think they wouldn’t make Bobby the primary focus. We still consider the appearance a success in spite of this.”
Watch Hines discuss The View with Maher in the podcast video above.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly