Cheryl Hines Clarifies That Husband RFK Jr.’s Brain Worm Only Ate ‘a Little Bit’ of His Brain Before Dying, ‘So Don’t Worry’

Cheryl Hines revealed that her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is no longer dealing with the brain-eating parasite that once affected him.

During her appearance on The View on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to promote her upcoming memoir Unscripted, the 60-year-old actress addressed the unusual topic head-on after host Joy Behar, 83, brought it up.

“Can we just clear one thing before you go? So we don’t have to make any jokes about it,” Behar asked, prompting Hines to nod in agreement.

“Does he or does he not have a brain worm?” Behar pressed.

Taking a breath, Hines replied with a laugh, “It ate just a little bit of his brain and died. So, don’t worry.”

Her comment sparked more questions from both Behar and co-host Whoopi Goldberg, to which Hines teasingly responded, “You’ve got to read my book.”

“That was just one tiny headline in a mountain of crazy,” she added.

The discussion referenced a New York Times report from May 2024, which revealed that Kennedy, now 71 and currently serving as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, disclosed details of the incident in a 2012 deposition. The account described neurological symptoms that began in 2010, including memory loss and brain fog.

After doctors discovered a dark spot on Kennedy’s brain scans, it was initially believed to be a tumor, and surgery was scheduled. However, before the procedure, a physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital concluded that the mass appeared to be the remains of a dead parasite.

According to The New York Times, Kennedy explained in his deposition that the image on his brain scan “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He suspected the infection may have occurred during a trip to Southeast Asia.

In an interview with the outlet, Kennedy said that the parasite — described by PBS as a pork tapeworm larva — died naturally and did not require treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that swine are the typical intermediate host for this parasite, which can infect humans through the fecal-oral route, such as ingesting eggs, rather than by eating undercooked pork.