RFK Jr. won’t attend birthday party fundraiser after celebrity blowback

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. won’t attend a birthday party fundraiser, his campaign said, after multiple celebrities who had been announced as attendees denied that they ever planned to attend.

The event is hosted by the super PAC American Values 2024, which backs Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

The Jan. 22 fundraiser was set to take place in Indian Wells, Calif. Announced guests included Andrea Bocelli, Martin Sheen, Dionne Warwick and Mike Tyson, though more than one of them has since publicly dismissed the idea.

Kennedy’s campaign, which switched from from Democratic to independent in October, confirmed via email that the long-shot candidate, who has faced fierce criticism for his anti-vaccine views, would not be attending the event.

The super PAC linked its post online to a report by The Daily Mail that stated the celebrities would be there to wish the candidate well.

Sheen, who famously played a fictional president in “The West Wing,” asked his co-stars to spread the word that he would not be in attendance.

“There’s a story going around saying that Martin Sheen is supporting @RobertKennedyKr for President,” co-star Bradley Whitford posted on X, formerly Twitter. “The story is incorrect. Martin asked us to post this on his behalf.”

“’I wholeheartedly support President Joe Biden and the democratic ticket in 2024. Sincerely, Martin Sheen,’” the post said.

Warwick said she did not agree to attend the fundraiser either and will not be performing at the event, despite the super PAC posting online that she would be.  

“I don’t know anything about this event. I did not agree to it and I certainly won’t be there,” she wrote on X.

U.S. News & World Report first published the news that Kennedy will not attend his birthday celebration.