Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s past is thoroughly riddled with rumored affairs, drama, scandals, and soap opera-like controversies. From Kennedy’s addiction to heroin to his brain worms to his decapitating a whale with a chainsaw and his bizarre use of a dead bear in a weird prank, Kennedy has always seemed oddly proud of his complicated history. He even joked during a political rally in 2023, “I’ve got so many skeletons in my closet that if they could vote, I could be king of the world.”

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However, one thing that Kennedy has been weary of is his connections to disgraced millionaire and predator Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking. When reports first surfaced that Kennedy had flown on Epstein’s infamous private plane, the lifelong politician was quick to try and explain the circumstances. According to Kennedy, the flights were entirely innocuous.

Jesse Watters: You weren’t on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet, were you?
 
RFK JR: I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times… (2023)
pic.twitter.com/7I0iyhejDN

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) March 30, 2025

“I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times, I was on it in 1993 with my wife and two children, to visit my mom over Easter,” Kennedy told Fox News host Jesse Watters in 2023. “On another occasion, I flew again with my family and I think four of my children and Mary, my wife, to Rapid City, South Dakota, to go fossil hunting for a weekend, [but] I was never on his jet alone, and I’ve been very open about this from the beginning … it was before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious issues.”

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Jeffrey Epstein’s so-called “nefarious issues” involved the former New York power player allegedly sex trafficking underage girls for some of the world’s most rich and powerful. Epstein was helped by girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell — who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Florida for her involvement. According to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the only reason he took a flight on Epstein’s plane was because his ex-wife, Mary Richardson, had “some kind of relationship” with Maxwell, as Kennedy claimed in his interview with Fox News.

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This account cannot be corroborated by Richardson, as she tragically died by suicide in 2012. However, it is known that the Kennedy family’s ties to Maxwell go far deeper than Richardson’s supposed friendship. Maxwell attended the wedding of Kerry Kennedy, Robert’s sister, to Andrew Cuomo back in 1990. Additionally, an unnamed source told OK! Magazine in August 2020 that Maxwell had bragged about having an affair with John F. Kennedy Jr., Robert’s cousin, in the early ’90s.

The extent of Kennedy’s knowledge of Epstein’s activities are unknown. Kennedy told News Nation’s Dan Abrams in January 2024 that he “ran across Jeffrey Epstein [at] fundraisers … but other than that I had no relationship with him.” Kennedy also had a less-than-great defense when appearing on comedian Andrew Schultz’ “Flagrant” podcast, and said he simply ran into Epstein because they both ran in the same rich social circles in New York.

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