The star political reporter for New York magazine has been laid off after an affair with RFK Jr. that began when he visited his $7 million home in California to write a feature article.
Washington journalist Olivia Nuzzi admitted that ‘the nature of some communications between me and the former subject of the report was private’, in a statement to DailyMail.com, where she also claimed the relationship was never physical.
His editor emphasized that other parties are ‘already a relevant subject of the 2024 campaign’. Status reports that the relationship is with the former presidential candidate, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines.
RFK Jr., 70, insists he only met with a political reporter once when they did a profile on him last year.
‘Sir. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in her life for a requested interview, which resulted in a good piece,’ a spokesperson told CNN. A source added that the nature of the relationship was ’emotional and digital, not physical’.
New York Washington magazine correspondent Olivia Nuzzi is on leave after an alleged affair with RFK Jr.
But insiders told the New York Post the couple had been involved in ‘sexting’ even though RFK Jr. was married and Nuzzi was involved at the time.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communications between myself and the former subject of the report became personal,” Nuzzi said.
“During that time, I did not directly report on the topic or use it as a source,” he said.
‘The relationship is never physical but needs to be expressed to avoid conflict. I deeply regret not doing it right away and apologize to the people I disappointed, especially my colleagues in New York.
New York magazine acknowledged the inappropriate relationship in a statement about Nuzzi’s hiatus, which it deemed a ‘violation of the magazine’s standards on conflicts of interest and disclosure’.
“If the magazine had known about this relationship, it would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” the statement read.
‘An internal review of his published work found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias.
‘He is on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more comprehensive third-party review. We apologize for violating the trust of our readers.’
The former presidential candidate is married to Hollywood actress Cheryl Hines
Nuzzi, 31, is engaged to Politico’s chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza, 50, through 2022.
However, the couple has since called off their wedding, with NYP reporting this in recent weeks.
He met father-of-six RFK for a hiking trip last year as part of a profile in New York magazine.
A source close to Nuzzi told Status that the relationship did not begin until the new year, after the profile was published in November 2023.
People close to the matter say they were not proactive in publicizing the matter and that New York magazine only recently found out about it.
In 2015, Nuzzi posted a tweet in which he blasted Hollywood’s portrayal of journalists using their sexuality to get ahead.
‘Why does Hollywood think female reporters slept with their sources?’ he asked, along with an article about the portrayal of women in the media as ‘slutty ambitious monsters’.
Nuzzi, 31, engaged to Politico’s chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza, 50, in 2022
He first met RFK Jr. at the $6.6 million Brentwood mansion he owned with Hines
The two met here before climbing the mountain as part of a feature profile coming out in 2023
In Nuzzi’s profile, he described meeting the former presidential candidate in a $7 million California home that he shared with his wife.
He paints a picture of RFK Jr as an anti-establishment candidate, ‘changing the presidential election’.
‘The fear – and denial – of what Kennedy seems to inspire between the Staid Washington Establishment supporting the incumbent president and the gangland anti-Establishment Establishment supporting the former president,’ he wrote.
He touched on the conflict in RFK Jr.’s marriage over his appearance on Steve Bannon’s show and other right-wing personalities.
‘Bannon is just the beginning. Terrible Cheryl,” Nuzzi wrote.
At the time this piece was published, RFK Jr. in the election race as an independent candidate, but since dropped out and endorsed Trump.
Nuzzi’s last article, in which he described checking Trump’s ears after the Butler assassination attempt, was published in New York magazine on September 9.
Nuzzi reportedly met RFK Jr. while doing a profile in New York magazine
She previously railed against Hollywood’s portrayal of female journalists using their sexuality to get ahead
It was in the midst of news that RFK Jr. is under federal investigation after he allegedly cut off the head of a dead whale and brought it home two decades ago.
RFK Jr. has been married to his third wife Hines since 2014. As well as six children and two grandchildren, he is a stepfather to a daughter from a previous relationship.
Nuzzi announced his engagement to Lizza on Instagram on September 22, 2022 with a series of videos showing a solitaire-cut sparkler on his ring finger.
The pair will publish a joint book on the 2020 election which has since stalled.
Page Six reports that as they struggle to make the anticipated political scoop, the Biden team is particularly distrustful of Nuzzi.
The book is still available for pre-order for $16.99 even though it won’t be available on Amazon until 2027.
Lizza has two children and was previously married to doctor Christine Gillespie.
Spokesman RFK Jr. said his meeting with Nuzzi was the only thing that led to the ‘hit piece’
She used to be a New Yorker writer but was fired in 2017 amid the #MeToo scandal after being accused of ‘sexual misconduct’.
Lizza described the conclusion as a ‘horrible mistake’ that has yet to receive a proper investigation.
Other media outlets working with Lizza conducted their own investigations, but found no evidence of wrongdoing.
DailyMail.com has contacted RFK Jr for comment.