JFK grandson goes viral for anti-restaurant rant

(NEXSTAR) — Jack Schlossberg, an American attorney and the sole grandson of President John F. Kennedy, is getting some newfound love from the internet after a comedic Instagram rant of his went viral on July 4. In the much-circulated Instagram Stories, the 30-year-old son of Caroline Kennedy (who’s believed to have filmed the videos) comes out with the mildest hot take imaginable: he hates eating in restaurants.

“We have to wait there to eat something that we don’t get to choose, really, what it is,” says Schlossberg to the camera. “We only get a few choices and you don’t know what any of them are gonna taste like or what’s good… and we’re gonna sit there and wait for some guy to ask us a question. And we’re gonna have to talk to some guy about what we wanna eat.”

In the light-hearted video, Schlossberg, a graduate of both Yale and Harvard universities, explains that he finds eating in restaurants to be a waste of time — including reading menus.

“We have to read to get your food? Why?” asks Schlossberg. “You don’t actually need to do that and that’s why I’m never ever going to a restaurant again.”

Among the attorney’s complaints are that restaurant food is less healthy than at-home options and that at-home dinners can take “a minute and a half” rather than the time it takes to go out.

Many online pointed out Schlossberg’s “enviable” hairline and similarity to his late uncle John F. Kennedy Jr. as another reason they found his musings so charming.

“I could watch him speak about dumb s— for hours, his facial expressions are mesmerizing,” tweeted one user. “For some reason, this makes him so sexy to me,” someone else wrote.

“Contender for favourite video of 2023. Unhinged and really quite riveting,” wrote another.

When asked why he’s so angry about the concept of eating in restaurants, Schlossberg explains that “it ruins your whole life. [Instead of eating at restaurants] You could f—— go lie down. You can walk around. You can listen to music. You could get work done. You could hang out with your friends.”

“What if your friends want to get dinner with you?” the person filming asks.

Schlossberg asserts: “Not everyone likes dinner. Most of the world doesn’t spend their life eating dinner.”

Not everyone was as big a fan of Schlossberg’s dismissal of restaurant culture, with many pointing to his family’s wealth and privilege as reasons someone would feel this way. One Twitter user commented: “WASP moment. Never had to cook ur own dinner in your life moment.”

Nevertheless, the innocuous observation was a welcome departure for some in increasingly polarized times. As Schlossberg’s first cousin once removed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leads a polarizing 2024 Presidential bid, the viral video was welcome news for some, with even Rolling Stone opining Wednesday that Schlossberg “is making nepo babies look good.”

Cutting back on dining out is something proving to be popular among Americans — and not just because they don’t want to. As CNBC reported in June, an AlixPartners survey found 74% of participants said they planned to reduce dining out amid inflation costs. Unlike with the Great Recession, the survey found diners would rather not eat out than “dine down,” at less-nice restaurants.