Tig Notaro hosted the “Tig and Cheryl: True Story” podcast with Cheryl Hines for three years starting in 2020. But the comedian walked away from the podcast in May 2023, just as Hines’ controversial husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced his presidential campaign. The timing was not a coincidence.
“My friendship with [Cheryl] pre-dated Bobby,” Notaro recently told Nicole Wallace on MS NOW’s “The Best People” podcast while discussing the end of her friendship with Hines (via The Daily Beast). “There were things he thought and felt that I didn’t agree with, but he didn’t have the platform he got in the pandemic. I think that I needed to stop doing the podcast, because it was so ridiculous, it was so stupid— our show — that it was hard to be doing that when he was gaining momentum and speaking.”
“Tig and Cheryl: True Story” centered on the two hosts discussing a documentary each week. Their conversation would often go off the rails thanks to humous asides and stories. Hines wanted to continue the podcast after Notaro left, with the latter approving the hiring of comedian Rachel Harris as the replacement host.
“People would interrupt my stand-up shows and yell, ‘Bobby is crazy!’” Notaro said about her decision to exit the podcast. “I was telling Cheryl that I know it’s a small percentage that pushes back online or yells out at shows, but I was like, ‘Man, this is not my world. I don’t do this. I don’t want to be a part of this.’ And she was like, ‘I understand,’ but she wanted to keep doing the podcast. I had to step away, but I loved her so much.”
Notaro continued, “What was most upsetting to me is we were in such opposing places, but I continued to reach out to her and send her love and support because I didn’t know what was going on behind closed doors. Then things shifted very severely. I realized one day that she doesn’t ever reach out to me anymore. She responds to me, but she doesn’t reach out to me. I had to kind of shake myself out of denial that, ‘Oh, she’s gone,’ and, ‘OK, I need to let this go. I need to let it go.’ What was a bummer is that there’s some interviews claiming I dumped her and left her in the dust because of Bobby, but I was trying to be a friend to her even though I didn’t feel like I could continue with the podcast. It’s been very strange, and I think I’ve moved past the confusion and sadness.”
Hines’ marriage to RFK Jr. has reportedly soured several of her Hollywood relationships given RFK’s ties to Trump and the president’s MAGA followers. RFK Jr. is serving as a the U.S. secretary of health and human services under Trump. Hines has said she no longer speaks to her “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator and co-star Larry David, for instance.
Watch Notaro’s full interview on “The Best People” podcast in the video below.
