Nuzzi’s gotta have it. Olivia Nuzzi from New York magazine has been benched for allegedly mixing business with pleasure with RFK Jr.
The renowned writer has been placed on leave pending a “third-party review.” This is after the outlet said Nuzzi admitted that she “had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign.”
The magazine did not disclose the identity of the individual involved. However, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told CNN that the relationship was with failed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The source described the relationship as emotional and digital in nature, rather than physical.
Meanwhile, RFK Jr.’s team is denying any serious association with Olivia Nuzzi.
“Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.” a Kennedy spokesperson insisted to CNN.
https://t.co/NawScGCAEw pic.twitter.com/gd0xoIJMFN
— Centrism Fan Acct 🔹 (@Wilson__Valdez) September 20, 2024
The purported relationship was first brought to light on Thursday night by Oliver Darcy in Status.
No Party Directly Involved has Confirmed if the ‘Personal’ Relationship Nuzzi was with RFK Jr
In a statement to CNN, Nuzzi acknowledged that her connection with a reporting subject had “turned personal” and expressed regret for not disclosing it to the publication.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal. During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,” she told the outlet. “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
In a message to its readers, New York magazine announced that Nuzzi is “currently on leave” while the publication conducts a comprehensive third-party review.
RFK Jr. had to tell Cheryl Hines about his affair with Olivia Nuzzi the same day he had to tell her he was being investigated for cutting off a dead whale’s head with a chainsaw.
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) September 20, 2024
Rough Thursday. pic.twitter.com/cRxCtFBJEV
Last November, Nuzzi wrote a profile of Kennedy. She has since contributed numerous features on Trump and the 2024 campaign.
The magazine reported that Nuzzi recently admitted to having a relationship with a subject of their reporting. This constituted a violation of the magazine’s standards regarding conflicts of interest and disclosures.
“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” the New York magazine statement pointed out.
The magazine conducted a thorough internal review of her work and found no inaccuracies or bias. However, it still expressed regret for having violated the trust of its readers.