Olivia Nuzzi attends an event in Miami in February 2022. she leaves new york magazine Almost 8 years later.
Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images, Vox Media
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Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images, Vox Media
new york magazine has parted ways with star author Olivia Nuzzi, a month after she was placed on leave over her undisclosed relationship with then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Last month, the magazine announced that Nuzzi, 31, had a relationship with a “former subject associated with the 2024 campaign” while reporting on the election, violating the magazine’s standards regarding conflicts of interest and disclosure. She could not tolerate such behavior. If the instructor knows, we will cover it.
News outlets identified the source as Kennedy, 70. dropped out of the presidential election And in August, he endorsed former President Donald Trump. A spokesperson for Mr. Kennedy, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, said last month that Mr. Kennedy “only met once in his life for an interview requested by Olivia Nuzzi, and it turned out to be a hit.” said.
Nuzzi, who has been the magazine’s Washington correspondent since 2017, wrote about the many candidates running for president this year: Kennedy’s profile In November 2023, I wrote about the Democratic Party’s “conspiracy of silence to protect” the then-candidate. President Biden in July and was interviewed former president donald trump Magazine’s September cover story.
new york magazine The company initially said an internal investigation found “no evidence of inaccuracy or bias” in Nuzzi’s research. The company announced this week that an external investigation by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine had reached a similar conclusion.
“Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi have agreed that the best course of action is to part ways.” “Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer, and we are proud to have published her work during her nearly eight years as Washington correspondent. We wish her all the best.” .”
Nuzzi acknowledged last month that earlier this year “some of the communications between me and a former news subject became personal,” adding that the relationship “was never physical, but… “This should have been made public to prevent any conflict from arising.”
She also said she did not directly report on the case or use it as a source during that time.
Her lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, told NPR in an email on Tuesday that Nuzzi “has been determined by two separate investigations that her coverage of the 2024 campaign is sound and that she did nothing wrong.” “I’m not surprised that it was determined not to have done so, but I’m satisfied.”
“She is grateful to the editors, fact-checkers and artists she has worked with, and to the readers who have supported her with their time, subscriptions and engagement,” Wilkenfeld added. “She is looking forward to the next chapter of her career.”
Meanwhile, Nuzzi and his ex-fiancée are battling it out in court.
Nzee has accused her ex-fiancé, political journalist Ryan Riza, of harassing her and threatening her with unsuccessful attempts to get back together after they broke up over an affair this summer.
Rizza, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and co-author of the influential Playbook, denies the allegations.
But this personal drama also had professional implications for him. When Nuzzi’s relationship was reported in September, liza said He tried to avoid any press coverage related to Kennedy “because he is involved in this story through his ex-fiancée.” The two have been engaged since 2022.
Later, after the allegations against Nuzzi surfaced, a Politico spokesperson said: multiple outlets Rizza said he and the magazine “mutually agree that it is in everyone’s best interest for him to step back and take leave while an investigation is conducted.” I did,” he said.
According to court filings, Nuzzi alleges that Rizza “expressly threatened to release my personal information in order to destroy my life, career, and reputation, and continued to carry out this threat.” . Obtained by CNN and washington post.
In the process, she alleges, Riza stole her personal electronic devices, hacked her devices, leaked information about her to the media, and tipped off her employer to her relationship. She said some of that information may have been “manufactured” to further harm her.
Ms. Nuzzi also accused Ms. Rizza of threatening her with physical violence in order to force her to “share the financial responsibility for the joint agreement with the publisher.”
According to reports, Rizza denied Nuzzi’s claims and offered her version of events in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C. Superior Court earlier this month. Document obtained by CNN And others.
He said Mr. Nuzzi’s claims were “defamatory lies designed to create sensational headlines, damage my reputation, and distract the press from Mr. Nuzzi’s catastrophically reckless actions.” . washington post reported.
In a court filing, Rizza said she learned in mid-August that Nuzzi had been “having an affair with a married man for almost a year,” but did not name Kennedy.
Riza claims that Nuzzi wants them to reconcile, and that Nuzzi has offered to “help her get out of her troubled relationship,” but that she is “seriously unsure” whether they can have a future together. I had doubts,” he said.
He also said he persuaded Nuzzi to remove “reported content” about his affair partner from his latest articles. He said he thought the publisher’s advance for a joint book project should be repaid. He said this is “the second consecutive presidential election in which our book project has been thwarted by Mr. Nuzzi’s personal indiscretions.”
Liza and Nuzzi actually appeared in court Last week, a judge scheduled a trial date for Nov. 19 to consider Nuzzi’s motion for a protective order against Rizza.
