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In a stark display of family discord, more than 50 Kennedy family members gathered last April to celebrate Ethel Kennedy’s 96th birthday, capturing what may be the final image of family unity before recent events shattered the Kennedy dynasty’s facade.
The fractures within this once-unified Irish-American Democratic family became apparent when six of Ethel’s children publicly opposed their brother Bobby Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, throwing their support behind Joe Biden instead.
The situation deteriorated further when Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg launched a scathing attack on her cousin Bobby before his Secretary of Health and Human Services confirmation hearings. “I’ve known Bobby his whole life,” said the 67-year-old former ambassador to Australia. “It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because Bobby himself is a predator.”
Her letter also accused RFK Jr. of leading family members toward substance abuse, stating, “But siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death, while Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life.”
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy’s statement to the US Senate on RFKJr’s nomination for HHS Secretary
This is a reading of a letter she just sent to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
I’m so proud of my courageous mother, who’s lived a life of dignity,… pic.twitter.com/feysNA0Wwp
— Jack Schlossberg (@JBKSchlossberg) January 28, 2025
The family rift widened as Maria Shriver endorsed Caroline’s letter, while Caroline’s son Jack Schlossberg took to social media to mock his cousin, even ridiculing RFK Jr.’s neurological condition.
According to Laurence Leamer, author of several Kennedy family books, this public animosity marks an unprecedented break from family tradition. “The language that they are using is so unKennedy-like,” he noted.
Jerry Oppenheimer, another Kennedy family biographer, revealed that such conflicts aren’t new, pointing to historical tensions between Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Ethel Skakel. He described how Ethel “despised Jackie — made fun of her — even down to the size of her feet, calling them clodhoppers.”
JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, posted a video mocking RFK Jr’s spasmodic dysphonia, a disabling neurological disorder.
Family members attacking their own family says more about them than RFK Jr. pic.twitter.com/tcDG7qQkx9
— Nicole Saphier, MD (@NBSaphierMD) January 29, 2025
The family’s internal struggles intensified when RFK Jr. supported Sirhan Sirhan’s parole and questioned the circumstances of his father’s assassination. His recent alignment with Donald Trump prompted five siblings to release a statement calling it “a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”
Despite Ethel Kennedy’s efforts to maintain family unity until her death in October, Oppenheimer characterized her as “a do-nothing matriarch” whose main role was being “the highly visible devoted widow.”
A Palm Beach socialite familiar with the family compared Caroline’s recent letter to “a suicide bomber willing to blow herself and her family up just to bring down Bobby,” noting how it contradicted the family’s long-standing image of unity and success.
The current situation represents a dramatic departure from the family’s carefully cultivated public image, suggesting that the legendary Camelot era of the Kennedys may have reached its end.