RFK Jr. Denies Making Comment, Then Apologizes Over Remark Suggesting Black Children Be Sent to Farms and “Reparented”

Alsobrooks: You said that if you could, you would send every black kid to live on farms and work.

RFK JR: I would have to hear that recording. I have no memory of saying anything like that.

Alsobrooks: I actually have the recording. It is absolutely what you said. pic.twitter.com/2rjlrXsX5N

— Acyn (@Acyn) April 22, 2026

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced sharp questioning during a tense congressional hearing Wednesday, where lawmakers challenged him on several past statements and current policies. One of the most contentious exchanges centered on previous remarks in which Kennedy suggested Black children prescribed certain medications should be sent to “wellness farms” to be “reparented.” Kennedy apologized for the comment while also denying he remembered making it.

Kennedy appeared before the United States Senate Finance Committee as part of a broader week of hearings examining issues ranging from prescription drug pricing to his controversial views on vaccines and public health policy. During the session, Angela Alsobrooks confronted Kennedy over comments made during a 2024 podcast interview, where he discussed creating rural “wellness farms” for Americans struggling with drug dependency and specifically referenced “every Black kid” being prescribed medications such as Adderall, SSRIs, and benzodiazepines.

When asked about the remarks, Kennedy said he did not recall making them.

“I would have to see or hear that recording, because I have no memory of saying that,” Kennedy said, adding, “I do not believe that every Black kid should be reparented on a wellness farm or whatever, and I have never believed that.”

Here's him saying it: https://t.co/G57XDh71d3 pic.twitter.com/NG8Eg6MvNu

— jordan (@JordanUhl) April 22, 2026

Sen. Alsobrooks strongly criticized the statement, calling it “ignorant,” “dangerous,” and “irresponsible.” Kennedy responded, “Well, if I said it, I apologize, but I’d have to see the transcript.”

Video clips of the original remarks later circulated widely online. In the footage, Kennedy outlined a proposal for rehabilitation communities in rural America where individuals dependent on legal or illegal drugs could receive treatment without phones or screens and “actually have to talk to people.”

The exchange is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Kennedy’s past comments on race, vaccines, and medicine. Critics, including public health experts and lawmakers from both parties, have repeatedly challenged statements they say are unsupported by science.

During the same hearing, Raphael Warnock sharply criticized Kennedy’s leadership.

“I think you’re dangerous to the American public, and you ought to be fired, and if you’re not fired, you ought to have the decency to resign,” Warnock said.

Sen. Warnock to RFK: "I think you're dangerous to the American public and you ought to be fired. And if you're not fired, you ought to have the decency to resign. You're way in over your head." pic.twitter.com/MA8JYV0Dk0

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) April 22, 2026