New York Magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi has been placed on leave following reports that she was allegedly engaged in a “personal” relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The relationship is said to have developed during RFK Jr.’s 2024 independent presidential campaign, before he dropped out of the running and endorsed Donald Trump. The 31-year-old political reporter claims that the relationship never became a physical one.
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New York Magazine released a statement.
“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,” the statement read. “Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign. An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review. We regret this violation of our readers’ trust.”
Olivia also released a statement.
Journalist Brian Stelter shared a statement from Olivia to his X account (formerly known as Twitter). “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 wrote. “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.”
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Some people are calling the journalist's statement 'BS.'
Many believe Olivia’s statement isn’t giving the full truth. “What does this even mean? You don’t get fired for flirting. This is a BS statement,” one person wrote.
“Sorry, I don’t buy it. JUST personal conversations to get a reporting target to spill some interesting sh– are… The Norm,” another commenter wrote. “If she HAD been stringing him along by pretending to flirt because he was a known dog, but without actually going there… again, that’s the norm.”
A spokesperson responded on behalf of RFK Jr.
People commented on the matter.
“I mean those are 2 adults. I see nothing wrong w/ it. theyre human too. Thats their business,” one person wrote. “RFK Jr changing the minds of reporters every day,” another person wrote, adding the laughing emoji. Someone else weighed in under one of Olivia’s most recent Instagram posts, commenting, “RFK wasn’t worth it, promise you.”
