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RFK Jr 'bewildered' by his family's choice to honor Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Ripple of Hope gala

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were announced as the recipients of the Ripple of Hope Award, presented by Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organization

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Robert F Kennedy Jr is "bewildered" and "baffled" to see his family’s human rights foundation choose to honor the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, Kennedy added, the pick is “still an encouraging step up," referring to the choice to honor Dr Anthony Fauci a couple of years ago on behalf of his tackling of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a bewildering choice but still an encouraging step up from 2020,” said Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. He previously lacerated Dr Fauci in his book and also considers him to be a fraud. 

In October, Meghan and Harry were announced as the recipients of the Ripple of Hope Award along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Some of the past recipients of the honor include Joe Biden and Barack Obama. RFK Jr has no say in who receives the award, which is intended for "exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy," but was taken aback by this year's choice, as reported by Dailymail.

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The award is presented by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organization, named after Bobby Kennedy and run predominantly by Kerry Kennedy, RFK Jr's sister. He and Kerry often argue publicly, especially over the former's virulent anti-vaccine stance. RFK Human Rights did not respond to inquiries on Monday, November 14.

Kerry said, in her October announcement, that the couple had been chosen for "their work on racial justice, mental health, and other social impact initiative." "The couple has always stood out for their willingness to speak up and change the narrative on racial justice and mental health around the world. They embody the type of moral courage that my father once called the 'one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.'"

The royal duo will attend the December 6 Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City. Tickets on the top table, where they will be sat, are being sold for up in packages worth up to $1 million. "The pioneer" deal is the most expensive package in which one has to buy four seats at the "head table," two tables, VIP access, and repeated recognition both on the program and at the event. A one-plate ticket for a staggering $2,500 is the cheapest option. This December’s gala will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and the special guests' list in the event include Forest Whitaker, Alfre Woofard, Bradley Whitford, and Kate Mulgrew. CNN favorites Van Jones and Don Lemon are also expected to attend. 

British professor David Nasaw who is also a prominent Kennedy family scholar called it "blatantly ludicrous" that the couple should be honored, according to Dailymail. "If you look at the people who have been awarded the Robert Kennedy prize in the past – Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi [Speaker of the US House of Representatives], Bishop Desmond Tutu – and then you have to ask what are Harry and Meghan doing here?" he said on Good Morning Britain on Monday, November 14. "What in God’s name have they done to merit this? What percentage of Harry and Meghan’s wealth is going to worthy causes?"

Rory Kennedy, Kerry's sister, runs a film production company with Liz Garbus, the director behind Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries. However, she has not confirmed whether she had any role in deciding who should be honored. Others have suggested a more straightforward motive to boost ticket sales for the event. They will be in the United States at the same time as the Prince and Princess of Wales, who will be honored at a separate event in Boston on December 2.