‘You’re going to leave the raccoons alone?’: Jesse Watters brings up RFK Jr.’s dead raccoon encounter live on air

Fox News host Jesse Watters asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday night whether he would “leave the raccoons alone,” referencing earlier reports that Kennedy had cut off a dead raccoon’s penis, according to Mediaite.

The exchange happened during an appearance by Kennedy on Jesse Watters Primetime, where the two discussed the revival of the Presidential Fitness Test and a separate executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at regenerative agriculture. Kennedy appeared to take the question in stride, responding, “Yeah, for the moment”.

The raccoon story originates from a book titled RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise, written by New York Post writer Isabel Vincent. The book reportedly contains a direct account from Kennedy describing the incident in his own words.

This is not the only animal story associated with RFK Jr.

In the book, Kennedy said, “I was standing in front of my parked car on I-684 cutting the penis out of a road-killed raccoon, thinking about how weird some of my family members have turned out to be,” per the New York Post. 

Kennedy also said he kept the animal’s genitals in order to “study them later,” and that his children waited in the car while this happened. Raccoons have separately drawn public attention in unrelated stories, including one viral case involving a meth pipe that gained widespread notice online.

During Monday’s segment, Watters brought up the story after Kennedy spoke favorably about Trump’s regenerative agriculture order, noting that the initiative has support from farmers. Watters then said, “Very good, and you’re going to leave the raccoons alone?” 

This is not the first time Kennedy has been asked publicly about the raccoon incident. After the story first gained attention in April, a TMZ reporter asked Kennedy directly, “What did you do with the raccoon’s dead penis? Where is it now?”. Kennedy responded only with a chuckle and did not offer a verbal answer at the time.

Mediaite’s report also referenced other instances in which Kennedy has discussed encounters with wild animals. In one case, Kennedy reportedly posted a video of himself attempting to handle two black racer snakes while his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, could be heard pleading with him to stop. Separately, Kennedy’s sister apparently has accused him of releasing a snake into a swimming pool that contained children at the time. Some people have shown interest in raccoons as pets, and reports have looked at how raccoons’ appearances change over time as they grow.