Politics tamfitronics
On a Tuesday morning late last October, star New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi met with then presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his Brentwood home for a piece that would change the trajectory of her life. Like many of the splashy stories that have made Nuzzi a young star of national political reporting, the piece was predicated on access. Originally, she had been meant to interview the independent candidate for a Q&A, which could have been conducted over the phone. But, sources told me, editors at New York wanted it to be a longer feature. Nuzzi drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles to interview Kennedy in person.
“Bobby, as he’s known to friends, walked through the French doors dressed for his morning hike in blue jeans, a black hoodie, Keens, and an unfriendly expression,” Nuzzi wrote in the story, published November 22. It was, in all, a sharp but empathetic profile of the scion of America’s most revered political family dynasty, whose campaign, born in the fringe-y swamp of the anti-vaccine movement, was at the time polling eerily well.
Of course after the magazine hit newsstands, Kennedy labeled it a “hit piece,” broadcasting another of his campaign’s tentpoles: a deep distrust of the media. The reporter and her subject argued over the story. He did not like the art that accompanied it, which depicted Kennedy with tears in his eyes as he raced along in his “dog car.” An update was added post-publication to include Kennedy’s response about how he had been involved in vaccine safety on behalf of the Trump administration.
For all intents and purposes, the pair’s communication might have ended then. Nuzzi moved on to other stories. RFK Jr. was busy on the campaign trail making spurious claims. Multiple sources described an incident on the hike in which Kennedy grabbed Nuzzi’s hand. Nuzzi had a conversation with another reporter who had a similar experience and called what had occurred “creepy.” (Kennedy, New York, and Nuzzi declined to comment for this story.)
Toward the end of November the two had resolved their differences and a “flirtation” via text had begun that would grow more intense over time. The “digital relationship,” as it has become known, between a married 70-year-old and an engaged 31-year-old would go on for several months lasting until late August. Like all relationships—even, or maybe even especially, those pursued via phone—it was multilayered and it was complicated, intense at times, dormant at others. Both parties appear to agree on just one thing: It never became physical.
Anyone within the blast radius of a New York media group chat knows by now what happened next. Oliver Darcy’s “Status” broke news of the relationship on Thursday night, sending X and DMs into a frenzy. And why not? This sort of thing—one of their own engaged in one of the craft’s mortal sins with a Kennedy—is known to work journalists into a lather.
Just weeks out from a historic election, Nuzzi’s job as New York’s Washington correspondent is now on the line. New York parent company Vox Media is conducting a “third party” review of her work. She is on leave and underneath a sky-high online pile-on. Meanwhile Kennedy’s camp has worked to frame the story with Nuzzi as the aggressor: a woman obsessed who chased him with naked photos, as sources told the New York Post. This from a man who has been accused of sexual assault and has a long and well-documeted history of allegedly pursuing women while he is married.
“She was not stalking him. She did not bombard him with images,” a friend of Nuzzi’s told me.
While reporting this week, I spoke to New York staffers and campaign insiders to get a sense of how the scandal unfolded behind closed doors—and how all involved might move from here.
A key part of why this story has drawn so much heat is Nuzzi herself. The 31-year-old has had a meteoric rise. A 2013 front page New York Daily News story about working as an intern on Anthony Weiner’s campaign put her on the map. A year later she was covering the presidential campaign and Trump’s rise for The Daily Beast before New York poached her in 2017. Nuzzi’s coverage of both the Trump and Biden administrations and campaigns has at times earned her critics. When New York published a July 4 piece headlined “The Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Joe Biden” it drew condemnation from some Democrats. Critics say her most recent Trump piece following the first assassination attempt on his life “humanized” him. She is signed to powerhouse talent agency CAA and has an AMC satirical drama set in Washington about a young female journalist in the works. This summer, she fronted a Bloomberg TV show interviewing the likes of Mark Cuban, Eric Adams, and Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Nuzzi had also, for the last several years, been dating former New Yorker writer and current Politico Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza. The two became fixtures of the DC power set and were engaged two years ago. But sources told me that in mid-August, before the Democratic National Convention, Lizza broke off his engagement with Nuzzi upon learning about her relationship with Kennedy. After he found out, Lizza and Kennedy had a phone conversation which was described to me as an “at times heated” call. Lizza declined to comment.
When the September 9 issue of New York hit newsstands the cover was split between a Kamala Harris piece by Rebecca Traister and a Nuzzi story headlined “Peering Into Donald Trump’s Ear, and Soul.” The matter appeared to be behind her. But word had gotten back to New York editor David Haskell, who called Nuzzi to a meeting at the magazine’s downtown offices late on Friday, September 13. (The Daily Beast would first report on this meeting.)
Haskell, sources said, confronted Nuzzi, saying he had heard about her and RFK Jr. (Haskell would later tell a colleague that the person who had told him was a woman.) The reporter, put on the spot by her boss, repeatedly denied it. Haskell presented an ultimatum. Fess up and there was a path out of the mess. Continued denials could invite corporate involvement. Nuzzi confirmed that she had in fact been in a relationship with Kennedy but stated it involved digital communication and was never physical. She was adamant it did not impact her coverage. Haskell instigated a review of her work that was conducted by an editor at New York. (Haskell declined to comment.)
By Tuesday, September 17, Darcy had reached out to Vox and Nuzzi. Initially, a rep for Vox and Nuzzi did not engage. Both appear to have been hoping that they could starve the story and prevent publication, confident the review would clear Nuzzi of any bias in her work. (Haskell would later tell staff an internal review “found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.”) On Wednesday Nuzzi was seen in the New York offices meeting with executive editor Genevieve Smith, Vox’s president Pam Wasserstein, and comms chief Lauren Starke. Haskell was in Milan for Fashion Week but joined the meeting via Zoom, as did Nuzzi’s editor, Jeb Reed, as the group discussed the review that was nearing completion. Around this time, Semafor received an anonymous email with a “news tip” about Nuzzi and Kennedy, its editor Ben Smith later wrote.
On Thursday the magazine’s planned response shifted several times throughout the day. The first involved Nuzzi being placed on leave with disclosures added to her work and the magazine issuing a statement. Another would have seen her request “medical leave” and there would be no statement or disclosures. Darcy kept calling. He was unequivocal he had the story and intended to publish. By Thursday evening, New York relented and provided a statement. Nuzzi was put on leave. Darcy published Thursday night. “Recently our Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi acknowledged to the magazine’s editors that she had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign, a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures,” New York’s statement read.
