Chris Pratt, star of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurᴀssic World, defended Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in light of Kennedy’s positions and actions as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy is a member of Pratt’s extended family, as the politician is the cousin of Pratt’s mother-in-law Maria Schriver.

Kennedy was known for taking controversial and conspiratorial stances on public health issues long before he became a part of the Trump administration. He has publicly rejected science that H.I.V. causes AIDS, for example, and suggested that antidepressants are linked to school shootings. Since taking office, Kennedy has cut $500 million in vaccine funding.

On August 18, Pratt was the featured guest on Bill Mahrer’s Club Random podcast, and said he “spent a number of occasions hanging with” Kennedy, “in a strictly family dinner kind of vibe.” Pratt went on to say he “really got along with him well,” adding “I think he’s great. I think he’s funny. I like him. I love him.”

What Chris Pratt’s Comments Mean

Pratt further clarified his comments, saying “I’m not in politics” but acknowledging that it’s “a nasty business.” He then compared politics to Hollywood, saying, “Hollywood in itself is a political insтιтution … I’ve seen how the person you are can be such a contrast to the person that people are being told that you are.”

The actor added that in his experience, he’s “been able to see how the person that you are can be sometimes in stark contrast to the person that your enemy is saying that you are. And in politics, you inherit enemies.” Likely, he’s not just talking about Stephen Colbert’s brutal RFK Jr. monologue.

Pratt also said that “when you jump on the bandwagon with who is the most divisive president ever, it makes sense that you’re going to be made to look terrible,” and shared, “so I don’t know what to believe.”

Pratt, then, clearly means his comments only to reflect his personal experiences with RFK Jr., as he also shared “I’m not going to pick his brain to find out exactly which of those things are true. I just kind of ᴀssume that none of them are and, for the most part, I wish him well.”

Our Take On Chris Pratt’s RFK Jr. Defense

The Terminal List’s Chris Pratt made one good point in his defense of RFK Jr., when the actor said some of Kennedy’s initiatives “seem to be supported in a bipartisan way–like getting terrible toxic stuff out of our kids’ food,” and suggesting that, regardless of people’s thoughts about the current president, they shouldn’t be against “any success from the administration.”

But Pratt’s claims that he doesn’t “know what to believe” about Kennedy suggest willful ignorance or a reluctance to speak publicly about his true feelings–whatever they may be. Kennedy was a known figure and anti-vaccine advocate for years before he found his way into the Trump administration.

Of course, Pratt, who didn’t endorse a presidential candidate in 2024, has worked to keep politics out of his work and public image. Days before the election, an opinion piece of his тιтled “Win or Lose, My Hope Is We Show Up for Each Other” was published in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.

And, given that news coverage about RFK Jr. in 2024 included stories of him dumping a ᴅᴇᴀᴅ bear cub in Central Park, sawing the head off of a beached whale, and hosted a parasitic worm in his brain–supposedly for years–he probably does make for a fascinating dinner guest.