Comedian Tig Notaro has opened up about the painful decision to end a longtime friendship with actress Cheryl Hines due to Hines’s marriage to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his political activities. The revelation came during an appearance on Tom Papa‘s Breaking Bread podcast, where Notaro discussed the difficult choice that ultimately led to the end of her podcast collaboration with Hines.
Notaro explained that her friendship with Hines predated Hines’s marriage to Kennedy, who was initially focused on environmental law.
“My friendship with Cheryl predated her marriage to Bobby,” Notaro said. “And he was in environmental law. And again, other beliefs he had were like a gnat on my arm.”
However, as Kennedy’s political profile grew and his positions became more prominent, Notaro found herself increasingly uncomfortable with the association. The breaking point came when Kennedy endorsed Donald Trump for president.
“And then he endorsed Trump and it just got hard to,”
Notaro explained, trailing off as she described the difficulty of the situation.
The comedian noted that Hines attempted to distance herself from some of Kennedy’s positions, but Notaro found those efforts insufficient.
“When somebody is like ‘oh we don’t agree on everything’ within a marriage, that is so vague,”
Notaro said, comparing it to disagreements about bedroom temperature rather than fundamental values.
“I would never say Stephanie and I don’t agree on things,”
referring to her own wife.
Notaro emphasized that she felt Kennedy and his political trajectory represented something larger than personal disagreement.
“You’re okaying a particular ride for this country to go on,”
she said.
“It’s affecting a lot of people in a lot of ways that you would see the complete opposite.”
The decision to step away wasn’t made lightly. Notaro and Hines had co-hosted the podcast “Tig & Cheryl: True Story”, where they discussed documentaries and shared genuine chemistry that delighted listeners. Notaro reflected on the loss with evident sadness:
“It’s really sad because it did bring me so much joy. And Cheryl did bring me so much joy.”
The comedian described Hines as
“one of my favorite friends to be ridiculous with”
and praised their ability to make each other laugh. The podcast had been a creative outlet where the two would discuss documentaries, though often veering into tangential conversations that frustrated some listeners expecting serious film criticism but delighted others with its casual authenticity.
Notaro’s decision reflects a broader cultural moment where personal relationships have been tested by political divisions. For the comedian, the choice came down to prioritizing her values and the people who share them.
“That’s what I’m looking for is I want to get back to prioritizing people that bring me joy and workloads that bring me joy,”
she said.
The end of the friendship and podcast represents a significant personal loss for Notaro, who valued both the creative partnership and the genuine connection she shared with Hines. Yet she felt compelled to make the break as Kennedy’s political activities moved from background noise to front-page news, culminating in his support for Trump’s presidential campaign—a position fundamentally at odds with Notaro’s own values and vision for the country. Tig Notaro previously stepped up and replaced Chris D’Elia in the Army od the dead movie following the series of startling reveals regarding D’Elia’s personal relationships that ended his Hollywood career.
Notaro also famously distanced herself from Louis CK when he was being cancelled despite CK co-producing her then Amazon series “One Mississippi”.