Comedienne Tig Notaro has countered the narrative that she unfriended actress Cheryl Hines due to her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s politics.
Rumors have swirled around what happened to the former duo’s relationship since 2023 when Notaro left their podcast, Tig and Cheryl: True Story, despite co-hosting it with Hines for three years. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his presidential campaign at the time and fans assumed that the two had a falling out over politics, especially after he endorsed President Trump in the 2024 election. Notaro, however, claims that while Kennedy’s politics became a nuisance for her and influenced her decision to exit the podcast, she ultimately tried to keep her friendship with Hines.
“My friendship with [Cheryl] pre-dated Bobby,” Notaro recently told Nicole Wallace on MS NOW’s The Best People podcast. “There were things he thought and felt that I didn’t agree with, but he didn’t have the platform he got in the pandemic. I think that I needed to stop doing the podcast, because it was so ridiculous, it was so stupid— our show — that it was hard to be doing that when he was gaining momentum and speaking.”
Even though Notaro and Cheryl Hines did not discuss politics on the podcast, the comedienne said that her loose association with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began to invite unwelcome attacks online and during her standup shows that it became too much of a distraction for her.
“People would interrupt my stand-up shows and yell, ‘Bobby is crazy!’” Notaro said. “I was telling Cheryl that I know it’s a small percentage that pushes back online or yells out at shows, but I was like, ‘Man, this is not my world. I don’t do this. I don’t want to be a part of this.’ And she was like, ‘I understand,’ but she wanted to keep doing the podcast. I had to step away, but I loved her so much.”
Though Notaro stepped away from the podcast, she claims to have supported Cheryl’s decision to keep it alive and even tried to maintain their relationship.
“What was most upsetting to me is we were in such opposing places, but I continued to reach out to her and send her love and support because I didn’t know what was going on behind closed doors. Then things shifted very severely. I realized one day that she doesn’t ever reach out to me anymore,” said Notaro.
“She responds to me, but she doesn’t reach out to me. I had to kind of shake myself out of denial that, ‘Oh, she’s gone,’ and, ‘OK, I need to let this go. I need to let it go,’” she added.
Notaro also expressed dismay over headlines claiming that she unfriended Cheryl over politics.
“What was a bummer is that there’s some interviews claiming I dumped her and left her in the dust because of Bobby, but I was trying to be a friend to her even though I didn’t feel like I could continue with the podcast. It’s been very strange, and I think I’ve moved past the confusion and sadness,” she said.
