Larry David rips into former pal RFK Jr. in his new HBO show: ‘Drop dead, Bobby. You should die a dog’s death.’

Larry David is officially using his new HBO show, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, to take aim at his former friend Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In a recent episode of the series, which is produced by Barack Obama, David portrays the mother of polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk. The sketch uses this 1950s historical backdrop to deliver a blunt message to the current U.S. health secretary, Variety reported.

The scene features David as Dora Salk, who is busy bragging to a neighbor about her son’s medical breakthroughs. The moment is interrupted by a character named Bobby, a tan-skinned man with a craggy voice who immediately starts spreading misinformation. Bobby claims the vaccine will cause heart attacks, leading David to snap back, “Drop dead, Bobby. You should die a dog’s death. You don’t know anything about science, you’re not a doctor.”

The dialogue doesn’t stop there. When Bobby insists he would prevent children from taking vaccines for polio and measles if he were in charge, David fires back with, “If you were in charge, God help us all! If some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge, that would be a dark day for humanity.” The sketch eventually ends with Bobby ranting about fluoride and conspiracy theories before being hauled off by two men in white suits, presumably to a psychiatric ward. The character even makes a direct reference to the dead bear he once transported in his car.

There is plenty of history between the two men

David previously introduced Kennedy to his wife, Cheryl Hines, who famously played David’s wife on the long-running series Curb Your Enthusiasm. While the two remained friends for years, their relationship soured after Kennedy endorsed President Donald Trump and joined his cabinet. Hines recently noted that she hasn’t spoken to David since the Curb finale, saying, “I think he’s mad [that] Bobby’s in the administration.”

The tension is clear when you look at the cast of David’s new project. While every main cast member from Curb Your Enthusiasm has appeared in or supported the new show, Hines is notably absent. When asked if Hines knew about the sketch mocking her husband, co-creator and director Jeff Schaffer said, “No idea.” Regarding why she wasn’t asked to make a cameo, Schaffer simply quipped, “You know, it just didn’t work out that way.”

Schaffer explained that the show aims to use history as a lens to address current events. He believes there is a significant amount of ignorance regarding vaccinations today, and he views Kennedy as a leading figure in that movement. By highlighting the work of Jonas Salk, the team felt they had the perfect opportunity to comment on what they view as current stupidity. Schaffer admitted that the jabs against Kennedy were simply “too good to pass up.”

Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness airs Fridays on HBO. The show places David in various historical settings, and he isn’t holding back on his political views. In a previous episode, the late Rob Reiner appeared as George Washington to mock President Donald Trump, calling him a “sociopath,” “lying a–hole,” and someone who is “friends with a pedophile.”