Larry David appears to be taking a swipe at his former Curb Your Enthusiasm co-star’s husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the latest episode of his HBO Max mock-history comedy series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.
In the episode, David portrays Dora Salk, the mother of Dr. Jonas Salk, whose development of the first successful polio vaccine transformed public health.
While hanging laundry outside her home, Dora boasts about her son's accomplishments before being interrupted by a skeptical neighbor who voices conspiracy-laden objections to vaccines. The character, played by Gregg Perrie, warns that the polio vaccine will harm people and even compares it to a Nazi plot.
"That vaccine's gonna kill people," the neighbor says. "It's gonna give them heart attacks!"
David's character quickly fires back with a blistering response that many viewers interpreted as a reference to Kennedy, the longtime vaccine skeptic who now serves as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
"Drop dead, Bobby," Dora says. "You should die a dog's death! You don't know anything about science, you're not a doctor. God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge. That would be a dark day for humanity I can tell you that."
Although Kennedy is never mentioned by name beyond the character being called "Bobby," the exchange appears to mock Kennedy, who serves as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and President Donald Trump, who appointed him.
The scene is particularly notable given David's personal connection to Kennedy through actress Cheryl Hines, who played Cheryl David on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Hines and Kennedy married in 2014, and David has known Kennedy through their relationship for years.
David has previously been outspoken in his criticism of President Donald Trump, while Kennedy spent years promoting anti-vaccine views before joining Trump's administration.
Hines, meanwhile, has acknowledged that her friendship with David has changed in recent years. She previously suggested the pair had grown apart, and unlike many former Curb Your Enthusiasm cast members, she has not appeared in Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.
Neither David nor Kennedy has publicly commented on whether the scene was intended as a direct jab, but the timing and dialogue have prompted widespread speculation that the comedian was taking aim at one of the country's most prominent vaccine critics.
