Bill Maher defends Cheryl Hines, amid criticism for sticking with her husband, RFK Jr.

"Going after the wife. Even the mafia doesn’t do that,” Maher said on "Real Time," coming to Hines' defense

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published September 7, 2024 6:09PM (EDT)

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife actress Cheryl Hines are seen as Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tapped California attorney Nicole Shanahan as his running mate during an event in Oakland, California, United States on March 26, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife actress Cheryl Hines are seen as Independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tapped California attorney Nicole Shanahan as his running mate during an event in Oakland, California, United States on March 26, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Over the past year, actress and comedian Cheryl Hines has made more headlines for her marriage to former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. than for her work on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," taking a hit to her reputation for standing by her bear corpse dumping, conspiracy theory pushing, Donald Trump endorsing spouse. But at least she's got Bill Maher on her side.

In a segment of "Real Time" this week, Maher lashed out at critics of Hines, calling them “obnoxious posers” for — in his eyes — essentially throwing the actress into the flames for not ending her marriage over conflicting political beliefs, although she herself has hinted in past interviews that Kennedy's support of Trump would be a dealbreaker for her.

Following his endorsement of Trump, Kennedy spoke of his wife's “trepidation” over it, telling TMZ, “This is the opposite of what she would want to do. She went along with it because she loves me and she wanted to be supportive of me, but it was not something that she ever encouraged." And it's that level of loyalty that Maher is in defense of, apparently.

“His wife is Cheryl Hines, who Larry David was quoted describing as ‘the best person I’ve ever met, the one person in Hollywood who doesn’t have a single enemy,’” Maher said. “Well, now she does . . . because she didn’t throw her husband under the bus when her husband made a decision about something, which she’s made plain she disagrees with . . . You wanna know why I have a bug up my a** about the Left more than I used to? It’s s**t like this. There’s an ugliness they never used to have. The liberals I grew up respecting, none of them were like this. Going after the wife, even the mafia doesn’t do that.”

Watch here:


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