Following news that New York Magazine journalist Olivia Nuzzi confessed to an intimate relationship with RFK Jr., the spotlight has fallen on how the political reporter covered the presidential candidate.
Nuzzi, 31, reportedly began her tryst with married Kennedy, 70, after she profiled him in an unflattering article in November 2023.
But while that article condemned Kennedy’s ‘filthy’ car, the ‘fear’ driving his campaign, and how he caused a ‘simmering panic attack’ in Washington, Nuzzi’s recent coverage has been more complimentary – although she has only mentioned him a handful of times.
This includes a New York Times interview with Nuzzi in March, where the reporter insisted – despite Kennedy’s lowly polling – that the presidential election was a ‘three-man race’ and that he was a ‘serious contender.’
Nuzzi was suspended from New York Mag amid the fallout of her relationship with Kennedy, which the outlet said was a ‘violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.’
The magazine added that an ‘internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias’, but had ‘the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign.’
Nuzzi’s relationship with Kennedy was first revealed by Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter, reporting that the journalist and Kennedy only began their relationship after she spent time with him for the November 2023 profile.
In that profile, Nuzzi wrote how she went hiking with RFK Jr. near his $6.6 million home in Brentwood, California, which she acknowledged he shared with his wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines.
‘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.
She said she joined Kennedy in his van, which resembled one that ‘survived a nuclear war’ or ‘the chicken-pox vaccine.’
‘Rearview mirror smashed to bits, seat belts chewed off, cushions gnawed open, filth and dog hair covering every surface. The death machine smells so bad I thought I might pass out after about 15 seconds riding shotgun,’ she wrote.
The unflattering depiction of Kennedy continued as Nuzzi described ‘the astounding amount of waste produced by his dogs’ on their hike, and recalled how he joyfully pointed out ‘coyote s***’ to her during the walk.
Although Nuzzi did not show any hint of their relationship in her profile, her interview with the New York Times months later has drawn scrutiny in the wake of the scandal.
Speaking before Joe Biden dropped out of the race, she insisted: ‘We’re forgetting or purposefully ignoring something rather important about this election: It’s not a two-man race. It’s a three-man race.
‘A majority of Americans say they are unhappy with another ‘lesser of two evils’ contest, and they’re in luck.’
She pointed to Kennedy as ‘polling competitively, especially among young people,’ and noted that at the time he was ‘steadily gaining ballot access across the country.’
Nuzzi went on to describe Kennedy as a ‘serious contender’ and said he was ‘performing way better’ than previous third-party presidential candidates, such as Jill Stein and Gary Johnson.
In the months since, Nuzzi has only referenced RFK Jr. a handful of times in her reporting on the presidential race, including noting that Donald Trump began talking about ‘subjects of huge interest to Kennedy’s eclectic base’ after he endorsed the former president.
Status also reported that despite her alleged intimate relationship with Kennedy, the independent was not used as a source by Nuzzi for any of her other reporting.
However, Nuzzi did speak about Kennedy in several X posts, including urging authorities to give his campaign Secret Service protection due to ‘credible threats to his safety.’
On June 27, following the fateful first presidential debate between Biden and Trump, Nuzzi again praised Kennedy’s campaign after he held a counter-broadcast on his own platform because he was not invited to debate.
She highlighted how RFK Jr.’s event got 5.8 million views on X, and ‘whether people watched him or not, it seems likely that tonight helps his campaign.’
With scrutiny now falling on her relationship with Kennedy, Nuzzi said in a statement to the Daily Beast that she denied ever having a ‘physical’ relationship with Kennedy.
However, she admitted that their exchanges ‘turned personal’ after she visited him for the profile at his California home.
She said in the statement: ‘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. 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.’