US Journalist Put On Leave Over Relationship With Robert Kennedy Jr

Olivia Nuzzi, a political reporter for the New York Magazine, has been placed on leave as a “third-party review” is being conducted after the disclosure of her personal relationship with former US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Nuzzi, the Washington correspondent of the magazine, recently admitted to her editors that she was engaged in a relationship “with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign,” according to a statement by the news outlet on Thursday.

It also said Nuzzi, who has written extensive long-form pieces about US politics, including RFK Jr, violated the magazine's standards around disclosing conflicts of interests

The magazine stated that after reviewing her work, it did not find any "inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” adding that she is "currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review”.

In a note to the staff members, David Haskell, the editor of New York magazine, stated that Olivia Nuzzi opened up about her relationship a few days ago, stating that it started in December 2023 and came to an end in August.

In a statement to The New York Times, Olivia Nuzzi said that “some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal”.

“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," she said.

Who is Olivia Nuzzi?

Born on January 6, 1993, in New York City, Olivia Nuzzi grew up in Middletown Township, New Jersey.

After completing her graduation from Middletown High School South, she went on to attend Fordham University. However, she reportedly dropped out of it after getting a full-time offer from The Daily Beast in 2014.

At the age of 20, Nuzzi interned for Anthony Weiner's New York City mayoral campaign. During the same time, she was hired by NSFWcorp as a staff writer and wrote about her experiences in a blog post.

While working for The Daily Beast she covered the presidential campaigns of Chris Christie and Rand Paul, besides former US president Donald Trump's ascent into politics.

Politico had in 2016 named her as one of the "16 Breakout Media Stars", while Forbes mentioned her in its "30 Under 30" list in 2018.

She was hired as the Washington correspondent for New York magazine in February 2017. In November last year, she worked on a profile of Kennedy, besides writing other features.

Olivia Nuzzi got engaged to Politico's chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza in 2022.

After Nuzzi's alleged relationship with Kennedy, Lizza in a note to readers said, "Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancee, my editors and I have agreed that I won't be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO".