Larry David has taken aim at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a new episode of his HBO sketch series "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America," with a sketch that thinly veils an attack on the US health secretary over his vaccine scepticism. The jab is notable given David's personal history with Kennedy: the two were once close friends, and David introduced Kennedy to actress Cheryl Hines, who went on to play his on-screen wife in "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and later married Kennedy in real life. Their friendship has since soured over Kennedy's political shift towards Donald Trump and his role in the administration.

In the sketch, David appears in drag as Dora Salk, mother of polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, clashing with a neighbour named "Bobby" who echoes Kennedy's real-world anti-vaccine rhetoric, prompting David's character to retort "Drop dead, Bobby." Every main cast member of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" has since appeared in David's new show except Hines, who has said she believes David is upset about her husband's role in the Trump administration. Show co-creator Jeff Schaffer said he had "no idea" whether Hines was aware of the sketch and that she simply wasn't asked to cameo.