Anamika Dey, editor
Brief news
- Olivia Nuzzi has resigned from New York magazine following a month-long leave due to a personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which was not initially disclosed.
- Investigations found no bias in her reporting, but both parties agreed that separation was best moving forward.
- Nuzzi expressed gratitude for her time at the magazine and is looking forward to her next professional chapter.
Detailed news
New York: New York magazine said on Monday that Olivia Nuzzi has left the organization. This comes after the top Washington correspondent was placed on leave a month ago due to a “personal relationship” with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which was not disclosed at the time.
After the magazine recruited the legal firm Davis Wright Tremaine to analyze her work, the publication came to the conclusion that her friendship with Kennedy, the former independent presidential candidate who was the subject of a lengthy New York cover story, did not result in any errors or prejudice. This led to Nuzzi’s resignation from the publication.
“They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” New York stated in a statement that was posted on its website. “They found no evidence of bias or biased statements.” In spite of this, the magazine and Nuzzi came to the conclusion that the most effective way to move forward is to separate ways.
“Nuzzi is a writer who possesses a unique talent, and we have been grateful to publish her work over the course of her nearly eight years serving as our Washington Correspondent,” the publication commented further. “Our best wishes are with her.”
Ari Wilkenfeld, an attorney representing Nuzzi, issued a statement in which he expressed his satisfaction despite the fact that he was not surprised by the findings of two separate investigations, which concluded that the journalist’s reporting on the 2024 campaign was accurate and that she did not commit any untoward acts.
“She consistently produced journalism that was critically acclaimed and enormously popular in her capacity as the Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine,” Wilkenfeld said. “She was in that role for nearly eight years.” She is thankful to the editors, fact checkers, and artists with whom she collaborated, as well as to the people who have supported her by contributing their time, supporting her with subscriptions, and engaging with her work. “She is excited to move on to the next stage of her professional journey.”
“Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which resulted in a hit piece,” a representative for the Kennedy family said to CNN at the time.
A bombshell story that was published in Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter indicated that the writer had admitted to having “engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign.” Nuzzi’s resignation comes one month after the revelation that the writer had admitted to having done so. It was later confirmed to CNN by a person who had direct knowledge of the situation that the individual in question was Kennedy.
A journalistic norm that has been upheld for a long time was violated when Nuzzi’s connection with a reporting subject was kept secret. Despite the fact that journalists are frequently familiar with their sources, they are expected to keep a professional distance from them. If they fail to do so, they run the danger of losing the faith of both their readers and their colleagues due to the potential of bias, even when there is no prejudice present.
The profile of Kennedy that Nuzzi wrote, which included a hike with the candidate for president at the time, was published in November of 2023. During the next month, Nuzzi stated that her connection with Kennedy “became personal” and ultimately came to an end in August.
Even if the connection was never physical, it ought to have been reported in order to avoid giving the impression that there was a dispute. At the time, she issued a statement in which she expressed her sorrow for not having done so promptly and expressed her apologies to those whom she had disappointed, particularly her coworkers in New York.
In court documents filed earlier this month, Nuzzi accused her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, who is the top Washington reporter for Politico and the creator of the Playbook newsletter, of conducting a harassment and blackmail campaign against her. This accusation came after the two of them broke up their engagement because to Nuzzi’s relationship with Kennedy.
The charges were refuted by Lizza, who also accused his ex-fiancee of engaging in “catastrophically reckless behavior” that led to the collapse of their relationship. Lizza stated in a court document that Nuzzi had informed him that Kennedy had exploited her and that he wanted to “possess,” “control,” and “impregnate” her so that he could “impregnate” her.
It was the “second presidential cycle in a row where Ms. Nuzzi’s personal indiscretions have sabotaged” a book project that the pair had intended to write about the 2020 race, according to Lizza, who was placed on leave by Politico while the publication conducts its own inquiry into the claims. Lizza said this in court.
CNN was informed by a source who is familiar with the situation that the book published by Simon and Schuster is still under contract, and that the publisher has not requested that its advance monies be refunded with interest.
Source: CNN
