America’s Secretary of Health and Human Services is not squeamish when it comes to critters, including roadkill and now two writhing black racers that he deftly collected from Dr. Mehmet Oz’s Palm Beach mansion.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. posted a video to social media of him catching the skinny snakes, with someone (sounds like his wife, Cheryl Hines) asking “why” in the background and “OK, OK, honey, honey, let it go” and “Bobby, Bobby, please!”
Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, diagnosed that the snakes were having sex when Kennedy interrupted them.
They subsequently bit Kennedy for the disturbance, which appears to occur on the sunny patio of Oz’s oceanfront estate.
“Are they biting! Jesus, their mouth’s are huge,” Oz says in the 49-second video.
Robert F. Kennedy’s critter obsession
USA Today has reported on several incidents of Kennedy’s affinity for animals, dead or alive, including a Central Park incident with a deceased bear cub, a run in with a dead beached whale, an encounter with the penis of a dead raccoon, and a quote saying that he has been “picking up roadkill my whole life. I have a freezer full of it.”
Kennedy’s post says “Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of black racers from Dr. Oz’s patio.”
Earlier this month, Kennedy posted a picture of himself clutching a bird as he stands in front of an airport terminal.
“Starling rescue at Dulles!” reads a simple caption, referring to the Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC.
Where is Dr. Oz’s Florida house?
The Palm Beach Daily News has written extensively on Oz’s landmarked oceanfront Palm Beach home with his wife, Lisa Oz. The home, which is listed in the name of Louwana Trust, was purchased in 2015 for $18 million. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser listed its total market value as $45.8 million in 2025.
“Palm Beach is my ‘chi’ source, a place where I come to regroup,” Oz told Palm Beach Life magazine in 2009, just before “The Dr. Oz Show” made its debut.
“Besides being beautiful and peaceful, (Palm Beach) lends itself to a healthy outdoor lifestyle with lots of exercise and sports time that we love.”
And, apparently, a black racer rendezvous bound to be interrupted by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for the USA TODAY NETWORK FLORIDA. She covers weather, the environment and critters as the Embracing Florida reporter. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at palmbeachpost.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nabs two snakes on Dr. Oz’s Palm Beach estate
Reporting by Kimberly Miller, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
