New York Magazine reporter placed on leave over 'personal relationship' with RFK Jr.
Relationship was 'emotional and digital in nature'
The Washington correspondent for New York Magazine was placed on leave Thursday after revealing that she had a "personal relationship" with independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while she was covering the 2024 presidential campaign.
Olivia Nuzzi, 31, told her bosses about a personal relationship she had with an unidentified person "relevant to the 2024 campaign," according to a Thursday statement from the magazine titled "A Note to our Readers."
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the person involved was Kennedy, whom Nuzzi profiled in November 2023, according to The New York Times. Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The story was first reported by former CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy in his Status newsletter.
In its statement on Thursday, New York Magazine noted that Nuzzi "acknowledged to the magazine's editors that she had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign, a violation of the magazine's standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures."
"Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign," continued the statement, asserting that Nuzzi's relationship with Kennedy did not compromise the journalistic integrity of her work.
"An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review. We regret this violation of our readers' trust."
Nuzzi subsequently released a statement clarifying that her relationship with her "former reporting subject" was never physical but acknowledged that it should have been disclosed to her editors.
"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," she said.
"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."
Another source told CNN that the relationship between Nuzzi and Kennedy "was emotional and digital in nature, not physical."
A spokesperson for Kennedy appeared to push back against the allegation that he had a personal relationship with her, telling The New York Times that he "only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece."
New York Magazine editor David Haskell said in a Friday email to staff obtained by CNN that he only learned of Kennedy's alleged relationship with Nuzzi days ago and made clear to her that she "had created at the very least the appearance of a conflict, and, by choosing not to disclose this to her editors, had violated our policies and potentially damaged our readers' trust."
Jon Brown is a reporter for The Christian Post. Send news tips to [email protected]
