RFK Jr. backtracks on ‘tylenol causes autism’ claim

In September, Donald Trump and his health secretary RFK Jr announced that Tylenol (a.k.a. paracetamol) causes autism. The claim was incredibly dubious from the get-go, with critics pointing out that there was no real evidence. Now, RFK Jr. has admitted his rank incompetence by announcing what we all knew a month ago:

🚨HOLY COW: In a humiliating reversal, RFK Jr. walks back his Tylenol autism claim – now saying data is only “suggestive” and “not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism.”

So after fear-mongering, now he’s not sure?

Should Tylenol SUE his ass?
pic.twitter.com/sgxghoSBZb

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) October 31, 2025

The backtrack

As Rachel Charlton-Dailey reported for the Canary in September:

the Trump administration’s wild claims are already being debunked, with the makers of Tylenol sounding furious. Kenvue, the company that makes Tylenol, strongly disputed the White House’s claims in a statement:

“Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy.”

It continued:

“We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”

Drug companies are far from the most trustworthy bunch, they’re nowhere near as dubious as RFK Jr. As such. It was no surprise to see him stating the following:

The causative association between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal period is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism, but it is very suggestive. And it’s suggestive in animal studies and core blood studies and observational studies from nation to nation. And so there should be a cautious approach to it.

And that’s why our message to patients, to mothers, to people who are pregnant, and to the mothers of young children is to consult your physician. And we have asked physicians to minimise the use to one that’s absolutely necessary.

He might have to backtrack from ‘very suggestive’ next month too, since that’s still a dubious claim.

That aside, people reacted as you’d expect:

It is hard to overstate just how irresponsible RFK Jr and his minions (Oz, Makary, Prasad) are… pic.twitter.com/hbh25ZxX8z

— Alastair McAlpine, MD (@AlastairMcA30) October 31, 2025

BOOM—RFK Jr forced to backtrack and now admits no sufficient evidence that Tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol) definitively causes autism. How many mothers and fetuses/infants suffered through a fever because of him? Remember pregnancy FEVERS cause miscarriages/birth defects!! pic.twitter.com/Q3WlMMXosF

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 31, 2025

Courting trouble

A day before RFK Jr. backtracked, the state of Texas launched a lawsuit against Kenvue on the grounds that they were deceiving customers by not declaring the risk of autism. Before this, it was speculated that Kenvue would take legal action against the White House given the hit to its shares. As such, people now believe RFK Jr. has received word that Kenvue could be set to make a move:

Tylenol is suing him https://t.co/HAASkm4vV5

— Grandma Grit 🌎 (@grandmagrit) October 31, 2025

While this is just speculation, it’s increasingly hard to see how Kenvue can avoid taking some sort of action.

From RFK Jr’s position, even if they don’t sue him, the Texas legal case will potentially lead to a verdict in which it’s confirmed paracetamol doesn’t cause autism. Should this happen, it would be a no-brainer to go after RFK Jr. next — especially if it’s a few years down the line and they no longer have to worry about backlash from Trump.

Who could have guessed RFK Jr. has no capacity to think before he acts?

RFK Jr. swims in DC’s sewage-tainted Rock Creek with his grandchildren despite a National Park Service bacteria warning. pic.twitter.com/3MpVf1AqYU

— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) May 13, 2025

Featured image via ABC News