Impartial presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confessed on Sunday that in 2014, he dumped a useless bear cub in Central Park in Manhattan and staged it to appear to be the animal had been hit by a bicycle.
The staged bicycle accident first made headlines in 2014. Then-New York Occasions reporter Tatiana Schlossberg—who’s the granddaughter of former President John F. Kennedy—lined the story for the outlet.
A girl was strolling her canine in Central Park when she seen it mendacity underneath some bushes, partly hid by an deserted bicycle. The cub was 6 months previous and 44 kilos.
On Sunday, Aug. 4, the 70-year-old shared a video on X exhibiting him recounting the story to Roseanne Barr, 71.
He famous that he determined to share the story now as a result of the New Yorker shall be together with the incident in a forthcoming article. “Trying ahead to seeing the way you spin this one,” he mentioned in his submit, tagging the journal.
Trying ahead to seeing the way you spin this one, @NewYorker… pic.twitter.com/G13taEGzba
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) August 4, 2024
Within the video, Kennedy began his rationalization by saying he and a few buddies picked up the animal after he noticed a girl in a van hit and kill a younger bear whereas driving by way of the Hudson Valley.
“I pulled over and I picked up the bear and put him at the back of my van as a result of I used to be going to pores and skin the bear,” he mentioned. “It was in excellent situation and I used to be going to place the meat in my fridge.”
He then detailed how he needed to attend a dinner at Peter Luger Steak Home in New York Metropolis after which head to the airport, which meant he needed to do away with the bear.
To resolve his dilemma, he determined to go away the bear in Central Park with an previous bicycle to make it appear to be it had been hit by the bike as a result of there had been “a collection of bicycle accidents in New York” and thought it might be a “good concept” to stage the incident—mentioning it might be “humorous.”
“We thought it might be amusing for whoever discovered it, or one thing,” he mentioned.
“The following day it was on each tv station,” he recalled of the headline-making story. “I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, what did I do?’”
“I used to be nervous as a result of my prints had been throughout that bike … Fortunately, the story died down after some time,” Kennedy shared.
“It’s gonna be a nasty story,” he added whereas speaking concerning the New Yorker‘s proposed piece.
On Monday, the outlet printed a chunk titled “What Does Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Really Need?” which included particulars surrounding the bear incident.