Cheryl Hines suspects The View hosts were only interested in discussing her husband after she was dealt a series of questions about his work during her recent appearance on the show.
The Curb Your Enthusiasm actress, who is married to US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr, sat down with Billy Bush on Monday who broached the subject of her visit to the daytime talk show.
Hines had hopes of promoting her book, titled Unscripted, but was instead confronted about her husband’s role in Trump’s administration.
After admitting the experience was what she had expected, she revealed how she wished it would have played out.
When Bush asked her about the tense exchange that played out on TV screens across the country, Hines said: ‘I was actually hoping that it was going to be more personal on The View but it was what it was.’
‘They just wanted to grill me about Bobby.’
Bush asked the actress: ‘Can you tell when someone hasn’t read your book?’
Hines replied: ‘Yes, I don’t think the ladies on The View asked me one question about the book. But, you know, that’s ok.’
Her fiery appearance saw her go head-to-head with Sunny Hostin, 56, in a tense conversation which ultimately saw the actress snap.
Cheryl Hines sat down on Hot Mics with Billy Bush (left) on Monday who broached the subject of her visit to the daytime talk show The View
Hines had with hopes of promoting her book Unscripted, but was instead confronted about her husband’s role in Trump’s administration which led to a tense clash with host Sunny Hostin
The 60-year-old actress is married to Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services
The liberal host, who was ruthless in her grilling of Hines, made several accusations about Kennedy to his wife’s face, including that her husband ‘is the least qualified’ head of health the US has had in history.
Hines fiercely defended her husband and his ability to serve as health secretary.
She said: ‘He has dedicated his career to suing big corporations because of toxins that have been affecting people’s health.
‘He was part of the team that sued Monsanto because of Roundup, a pesticide that was causing cancer. GMOs right?
‘He sued Dupont, he sued Exxon, and he sued these companies for health reasons, because they were causing health problems.’
Hostin retorted: ‘The problem, respectfully, is that your husband is the least qualified Department of Health and Human Services head that we’ve had in history.’
Cheryl hit back: ‘Less qualified than an economist?’
‘I think he is less qualified,’ Sunny retorted.
Hines furiously defended her husband RFK Jr’s ability to serve as health secretary during the appearance
She continued: ‘He has also spread a lot of misinformation, a lot of chaos, a lot of confusion,’ Sunny said to applause. ‘And I think it’s just a very dangerous thing. I say it with the utmost respect.’
‘Listen, we all have different views here,’ Cheryl continued. ‘And when you say misinformation, disinformation, we could go back to Covid when…’
Before she could finish, Sunny quipped: ‘He’s connected circumcision to autism.’
‘May I finish?’ a frustrated Cheryl then snapped.
Co-host Sara Haines has since heaped praise on Hines for appearing on the ABC talk show – despite the dramatic clash with Hostin.
Speaking on the Behind the Table podcast on Wednesday, she also stressed the importance of inviting guests on with opposing viewpoints.
‘I think she did a great job,’ she said. ‘I mean she was coming to a table where her husband has been a hot topic for a long time and so I commended her for just showing up.
‘But then I found that her comedic sense was a good buffer for her because she joked throughout even though we were asking her tough questions.
‘I had some people write me and say, “you went easy on her Sara, why didn’t you go harder?” I don’t think people always appreciate the ensemble of a table.
‘We want people at our table. We want people with different views at our table, and there’s points where you’re in a group and you watch things getting tense then you try and keep the balance of what the producers’ intentions were which is to cover a lot of stuff.’
