KT #697 - RFK JR + ARI SHAFFIR
What this video covers
An important note up front: the “RFK JR” in this episode’s title is comedian Kyle Dunnigan’s impersonation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., not Kennedy himself. This is episode 697 of Tony Hinchcliffe’s Kill Tony — the live comedy show where amateur stand-ups perform one minute and are interviewed by Hinchcliffe, co-host Brian Redban, and guests — recorded December 9, 2024, with Ari Shaffir as the other featured guest.
Dunnigan’s Kennedy impression, complete with the gravelly vocal affectation, riffs on Kennedy’s public persona: the roadkill stories, the falconry, the vaccine skepticism, and his then-new alliance with Trump. The episode follows the standard Kill Tony format — bucket-pull open-mic comics, panel banter, Shaffir’s characteristically dark material — with the Kennedy character woven through as a recurring bit.
Key points
- The Kennedy appearance is an impersonation by Kyle Dunnigan — worth stating plainly, since the title alone has misled casual viewers.
- Dunnigan’s impression targets Kennedy’s most meme-able traits: the distinctive voice, the dead-bear and roadkill anecdotes, and the MAHA-era political pivot.
- Ari Shaffir appears as the episode’s other name guest, with the regular Hinchcliffe/Redban panel and a lineup of open-mic comics (William Montgomery, Ari Matti, Kam Patterson, Hans Kim, and others).
- The episode captures how thoroughly Kennedy had entered the comedy world’s reference set by late 2024 — he was impression-worthy, which is its own kind of cultural arrival.
- For the chronicle’s purposes, this is a cultural artifact about Kennedy’s public image rather than a source for his positions.