Olivia Nuzzi Departs New York Magazine Following Sexting Scandal With RFK Jr.
The magazine said it retained a law firm that determined her indiscretions did not compromise her reporting.
Olivia Nuzzi will leave her position as New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent following a sexting scandal with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that led her editors to investigate her for possible infractions of journalistic ethics. Ms. Nuzzi is currently in a nasty legal battle with her ex-fiancé as a result of her digital affair.
“Last month, the magazine enlisted the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to review Olivia Nuzzi’s work during the 2024 campaign. They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” the magazine said in a statement Monday.
“Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best course forward is to part ways. Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work over her nearly eight years as our Washington Correspondent. We wish her the best,” they added.
Ms. Nuzzi was suspended from New York Magazine in September after journalist Oliver Darcy reported she had engaged in a personal relationship with Mr. Kennedy even as she was covering the 2024 election. She reportedly denied the existence of such a relationship when confronted by her editors, though eventually admitted that it was true.
She was viewed as one half of a Washington power couple during the course of her relationship with Politico’s chief Washington correspondent, Ryan Lizza, with whom she was writing a book about the 2024 election. Ms. Nuzzi is suing Mr. Lizza for alleged invasions of privacy after he helped leak details of her sexting relationship with Mr. Kennedy to the press. Mr. Lizza has denied all accusations and is asking that Ms. Nuzzi be forced to pay back her half of the book advance they received because the book was canceled as a result of her improper relationship with the former independent presidential candidate.
In a court filing, Mr. Lizza wrote that Mr. Kennedy sought to “possess,” “control,” and “impregnate” Ms. Nuzzi, and that all details about the sordid circumstances came from Ms. Nuzzi herself. She has accused Mr. Lizza of hacking her devices to gain access to her text messages with Mr. Kennedy.
During an event with the New York Sun’s publisher Dovid Efune in September, Mr. Kennedy declined to answer any questions about his relationship with Ms. Nuzzi.