Sunny Hostin Hasn't Held Back Her Disdain For RFK Jr. (Even To His Wife Cheryl Hines' Face)

Since it premiered in 1997, ABC's The View has become famous for the arguments that happen between the hosts and guests, and Sunny Hostin kept the legacy alive when Cheryl Hines visited the show. Hostin's in-laws tragically passed away due to complications caused by COVID-19, and she wasn't about to let Hines leave the set without defending the actions of her husband, RFK Jr., who pushed COVID conspiracies before he became the Secretary of Health and Human Services. As described by Entertainment Weekly, Hostin called RFK Jr. "the least-qualified Department of Health and Human Services head that we've had in history" and brought up Kennedy's stance that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism, a claim that he later walked back, via The Hill.

Hines, who was on the show to promote her autobiography, "Unscripted," attempted to defend her husband by saying that while vaccines are important, they need to be safer. As explained by the World Health Organization, vaccines are safe and must undergo "rigorous and stringent testing ... before being considered suitable for use." And while Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg tried to take some pressure off Hines at different points during the interview, Hostin wasn't willing to back down. 

Hostin didn't save all of her disdain for RFK Jr. for Hines' appearance. As described by Decider, the View host used a conversation about the Affordable Care Act to hit out at RFK Jr. by mentioning the parasitic worm that was found in his brain, which is just one of RFK Jr.'s many health issues. And, according to Parade, Hostin and the other hosts of The View spent a portion of their season 29 premiere tearing apart RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine stances, with Hostin stating that the son of Robert F. Kennedy's actions "will lead to death."

Hostin isn't the only View host who has issues with RFK Jr. During the 2024 election, Joy Behar called him out for running as an independent, knowing that it would only help Donald Trump (via Salon). This was before RFK Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump after he offered Kennedy a position in his administration. Whoopi Goldberg went after Kennedy after he stated that a measles outbreak wasn't unusual, saying, per Entertainment Weekly, "Actually, it is unusual, because it was eradicated. You're not giving out the proper information." Alyssa Farah Griffen, the conservative co-host of The View, agreed with Goldberg, pointing out that 2025 saw the first child death due to measles in over 20 years.