Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed a viral photo that allegedly shows him eating a barbecued dog, asserting that the image actually depicts a goat. The controversy erupted after Vanity Fair published a detailed profile on Kennedy, highlighting several explosive allegations about his personal and political life — presumably to attack one of President Joe Biden’s political opponents.
According to the Vanity Fair report, Kennedy texted a photo to a friend, supposedly taken in South Korea, showing him with what appeared to be a barbecued dog. The photo’s metadata indicates it was taken in 2010, the same year Kennedy was diagnosed with a dead tapeworm in his brain. A veterinarian who examined the photo claimed the carcass had characteristics of a canine, including 13 pairs of ribs with a “floating rib.”
Responding to the allegations, Kennedy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, tagging Vanity Fair and challenging their claims. “You know when your veterinary experts call a goat a dog, and your forensic experts say a photo taken in Patagonia was taken in Korea, that you’ve joined the ranks of supermarket tabloids,” he wrote. Kennedy insisted the photo was taken in Patagonia and featured a goat, not a dog.
Kennedy also criticized the media’s focus on such stories, arguing that it distracts from more pressing issues facing American families. “The DNC media’s garbage pail journalism may distract us from President Biden’s cognitive deficits but it does little to elevate the national debate or reduce the price of groceries,” he added.
The Vanity Fair article also included other serious allegations against Kennedy, such as claims that he drove his first wife, Mary Richardson, to suicide, sent non-consensual explicit texts, and sexually harassed a former babysitter. Kennedy has yet to respond to these additional accusations directly.