Olivia Nuzzi opens up to New York Magazine about a secret relationship with RFK

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CNN
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Olivia Nuzzi has parted ways with New York Magazine, the publication said Monday, after the Star's Washington correspondent was placed on leave last month because of a previously undisclosed “personal relationship” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nuzzi's departure came after the magazine hired the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to review her work and concluded that her relationship with Kennedy, the former independent presidential candidate who was the subject of a lengthy New York cover story, did not give rise to inaccuracies or bias had led.

“They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s first internal review of its published work and found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias,” New York said in a statement on its website. “Still, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best way forward was to part ways.”

“Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work during her nearly eight years as Washington correspondent,” the magazine added. “We wish her all the best.”

In a statement, Ari Wilkenfeld, an attorney for Nuzzi, said the journalist was “satisfied, but not surprised, that two separate investigations have found that her reporting on the 2024 election campaign was sound and that she did nothing wrong.”

“For nearly eight years, she has consistently produced critically acclaimed and wildly popular journalism in her capacity as Washington correspondent for New York Magazine,” Wilkenfeld said. “She is grateful to the editors, fact-checkers, and artists with whom she has worked, and to the readers who have supported her with their time, subscriptions, and engagement. She looks forward to the next chapter of her career.”

A Kennedy spokesman told CNN at the time: “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which led to a hit song.”

Nuzzi's departure comes a month after a sensational report in Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter revealed that the author had admitted to having “a personal relationship with a former issue relevant to the 2024 campaign while covering the campaign reported”. A person with direct knowledge of the matter later confirmed to CNN that the person was Kennedy.

Nuzzi's secret relationship with a reporting subject violated longstanding journalistic standards. Although journalists are often familiar with sources, they are expected to maintain a professional distance or risk losing the trust of readers and colleagues due to the possibility of bias, even if it does not exist.

Nuzzi's profile of Kennedy, which included a dispute with the then-presidential candidate, was published in November 2023. Nuzzi said her relationship with Kennedy “became personal” the following month and ended in August.

“The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of conflict. “I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I disappointed, especially my colleagues in New York,” she said in a statement at the time.

Earlier this month, Nuzzi accused her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, Politico's chief Washington correspondent and author of the Playbook newsletter, in court filings of orchestrating a harassment and blackmail campaign against her after the duo broke off their engagement because of Nuzzi's relationship with Kennedy.

Lizza denied the allegations and accused his ex-fiancée of “catastrophically reckless behavior” that led to their breakup. In a court filing, Lizza said Nuzzi told him that Kennedy manipulated her and that he wanted to “own,” “control” and “impregnate” her.

Lizza, who has been placed on leave while Politico itself investigates the allegations, said in court it was “the second consecutive presidential cycle in which Ms. Nuzzi's personal indiscretions have sabotaged a book project” the couple planned to write about the 2020 election.

A person familiar with the matter told CNN that Simon and Schuster's book is still under contract and that the publisher has not asked for its advances to be returned.

CNN's Brian Stelter and Katelyn Polantz contributed reporting.