“We differ on many current issues.”
You know Cheryl Hines from Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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Hines may be the ex-wife of Larry David on Curb, but in real life she’s married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and a nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Earlier this week, Kennedy spoke at an anti-vaccine mandate rally in Washington, D.C., where he made offensive remarks about Anne Frank and the Holocaust.
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“Even in Hitler Germany, you could, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland. You could hide in an attic, like Anne Frank did,” Kennedy said, suggesting that Frank — who died in the Holocaust — lived under easier conditions than in present-day U.S. “I visited, in 1962, East Germany with my father and met people who had climbed the wall and escaped, so it was possible. Many died, true, but it was possible.”
The backlash, understandably, was swift. The Auschwitz Memorial tweeted a statement condemning Kennedy’s remarks.
@oneunderscore__ Exploiting of the tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany – including children like Anne Frank – in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay.
@AuschwitzMuseum / Via Twitter: @AuschwitzMuseum
“Exploiting of the tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany – including children like Anne Frank – in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay,” the Memorial’s statement read.
In the Auschwitz Memorial’s mentions, a Twitter user tagged Hines and asked, “Do you stand with your husband?” Hines decided to reply. “My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own,” she said. “While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.”
@IrishGypsy20 @AuschwitzMuseum @oneunderscore__ My husband’s opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues.
@CherylHines / Via Twitter: @CherylHines
Earlier today, Hines tweeted another, more definitive statement effectively condemning her husband’s remarks. “My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive,” she wrote.
My husband’s reference to Anne Frank at a mandate rally in D.C. was reprehensible and insensitive. The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own.
Twitter: @CherylHines
“The atrocities that millions endured during the Holocaust should never be compared to anyone or anything. His opinions are not a reflection of my own.”
Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Turner Image
Kennedy personally apologized for his remarks, too.
I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors. My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.
@RobertKennedyJr / Via Twitter: @RobertKennedyJr
“I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors,” he wrote. “My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.”