Chelsea Handler thought she was buying a slice of Brentwood luxury. What she says she got instead was something closer to a haunted money pit — with a political punchline baked right into the foundation.
On a recent episode of her Dear Chelsea podcast, the comedian unloaded on the $5.9 million home she purchased in 2021 — a property once owned by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and actress Cheryl Hines. The house, built in 1937 and tucked into one of Los Angeles’ most expensive neighborhoods, should have been a dream.
Handler says it was anything but.
“I have still not lived in that house,” she said, more than four years after closing the deal. “That’s how [expletive] up this house was.”
According to Handler, the problems weren’t cosmetic. They were structural. Existential, even. She claims a home inspector warned her the property was “the most toxic environment” and told her it would be uninhabitable for at least two years.
“I’m not exaggerating any of this,” she said. “It was a disaster, and I didn’t know it going in because everything was… under wraps.”
The story only gets stranger from there.
Handler says she didn’t initially realize who she was buying the home from. When she did, the situation took on an added layer of irony — one she was more than happy to point out. Referring to Kennedy’s current role as Secretary of Health and Human Services, she joked: “The idea that this guy is in charge of the health of our country when he didn’t even have a proper foundation at his house.”
Then came what she describes as the final insult: an allegedly illegal outdoor structure left behind on the property.
During the inspection process, Handler says she learned about a “little outdoor storage unit” that wasn’t up to code. “So now we have to remove his illegal bulls—t from my property,” she said, still sounding incredulous. “How did they not find this upon the first inspection?”
If the house wasn’t already giving off bad energy, Handler says others confirmed it. She claimed at least three people independently told her the home was “cursed.”
And then there was the note.
Actress Cheryl Hines and husband, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pose for a photo on the pink carpet during the third annual Starry Starry Night Gala at Chaparral Country Club in Palm Desert, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
After the sale, Handler says Cheryl Hines left her a polite message offering help if needed. Handler’s response, at least in hindsight, was less than gracious.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, how about a [expletive] foundation?’” she said.
For their part, Kennedy and Hines didn’t go far. The couple reportedly purchased another home on the same Brentwood street for $6.6 million, leaving Handler with what she describes as a sprawling, expensive problem she still hasn’t fully resolved.
“I’m not angry about it or anything,” she added, dripping with sarcasm. “I’m totally over it.”
