Meghan McCain and Cheryl Hines are getting real about the way the public has treated them—with McCain sharing a shocking story of political discrimination, and Hines opening up about backlash tied to her husband’s role in the Trump administration.

Hines, 60, joined McCain on Wednesday’s episode of the Citizen McCain podcast. The actress talked about the criticism she’s faced since her husband, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), aligned with Donald Trump and took on the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services. That conversation led McCain, 40, to recall a time she says she was treated unfairly just for being conservative.

“When you’re dealing with criticism, you learn fast: no matter who you are or what you do, there are people who just won’t like you,” Hines told McCain. “Even as an actress—you could be the nicest person in the business, and I’m sure someone out there is saying, ‘Ugh, she’s ugly, she can’t act.’… Being in the public eye teaches you that early. You realize that person doesn’t know you, so you have to tune out the noise. But it’s never easy.”

The Curb Your Enthusiasm star also thanked her family—including her daughter and stepchildren—for standing by her during RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign and after. RFK Jr., who’s long been known for controversial takes (most notably his anti-vaccine comments), ran for president in 2024 first as a Democrat. He later left the party to run as an independent, dropped out of the race, and eventually endorsed Trump. Even without a medical degree or background in medicine, he went on to join Trump’s cabinet as HHS Secretary.

After RFK Jr. took the role, Hines moved to Washington, D.C., but still spends time in Los Angeles. She told McCain that because of her husband’s position, they still get criticized even when they’re out in public.

“It still strikes me as weird that some people think it’s okay to just walk up to Bobby and yell at him,” Hines said. When McCain asked if that happens “a lot,” Hines replied, “Not really. For every person who yells at him, there are probably a thousand who come up to say they love him and want a photo. But it’s such a strange situation—I’ve never had anything like that happen before.”

McCain then jumped in to share her own experience: “I’ve actually been kicked out of restaurants because of my politics. I wasn’t doing anything wrong—it was brutal, and it happened in LA,” she said. Hines looked shocked.

“Oh my gosh, that’s insane,” Hines said. McCain added, “It’s a whole story,” and explained she was with “another woman who’s a conservative pundit—whatever you want to call what I do” when it went down.

The former The View co-host said she couldn’t understand why anyone would dislike Hines, but noted, “Being linked to the Trump administration makes you a target.” She asked Hines, “Has that been a tough adjustment in LA or New York? Even DC? Though people here seem a little more respectful.”

Hines admitted LA has been “hard to adjust to.” “There are parts of it that just don’t make sense,” she said. “Take MAHA—Make America Healthy Again. I have friends who are super into health—they’d love to get petroleum dyes out of food and arsenic out of products. But because it’s MAHA, and it feels tied to MAGA, they get so mad about it. That’s just weird to me.”

She added, “It’s interesting to see who can separate politics from the entertainment industry—and who can’t.”

McCain said one thing she “can’t stand” is when people tell her they “love” her politics but “can never say it” publicly. “I even know a musician who told me, ‘Can you not share my work on social media?’” she said. “I feel like we all need to grow up—there’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you’re conservative, MAHA, or liberal. We should all be able to coexist.”

When McCain asked if Hines has people in her life who “quietly support” her but won’t say so publicly, Hines answered, “Absolutely.”

“That’s ridiculous—I hate that. It actually makes me angry,” McCain shot back. Hines replied, “It doesn’t make me angry. I just think, ‘Okay, then!’”

“Again, I’m from the entertainment industry, so I get that this is a thing,” Hines continued. “I kind of feel bad for people who can’t be open about supporting Bobby. But I understand. I’m not gonna out anyone—if I did that, I’d be doing it all day.” She added, “There are a lot of people, even in LA, who love Bobby and support the administration. It’s just strange that they feel like they have to hide it.”

It’s unclear when McCain and Hines recorded their conversation, but the podcast episode dropped one day after Hines appeared on Tuesday’s The View—where she clashed with Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg over RFK Jr.’s lack of qualifications for his HHS role.

“Just to be clear: you know he’s not a doctor, right? He’s not a medical professional. And a lot of the time, when he talks, he’s not sharing accurate info,” Goldberg said.

Hostin chimed in next: “Respectfully, the problem here is that your husband is the least qualified HHS Secretary we’ve ever had.”

Hines pushed back, arguing that her husband has “spent his career studying toxins and public health.” Hostin calmly responded, “He’s also spread a lot of misinformation—created chaos and confusion. That’s a really dangerous thing.”

“He’s even linked circumcision to autism,” Hostin added. Hines cut in: “May I? Can I finish?”

She then brought up unsubstantiated claims about Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to pushback from Alyssa Farah Griffin and Hostin. Joy Behar then threw out one last question about RFK Jr.: “Does he or does he not have a brain worm?”

Hines joked in reply: “It ate a tiny little bit of his brain and then died, so don’t worry!”