New York magazine reportedly put reporter Olivia Nuzzi on leave this week after an internal investigation found “she had engaged in a personal relationship” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“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,” New York magazine said in a statement.
Nuzzi later released a statement, saying she never had a physical relationship with her former reporting subject but did engage in “personal” communications with them, not naming RFK Jr.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” she said. “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.”
A Kennedy spokesperson also denied any sort of physical relationship and said he had only met Nuzzi once.
“Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,” a Kennedy spokesperson said.
The magazine later said Nuzzi would have been removed of her reporting duties had they been made aware of the relationship.
“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign. An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” New York magazine said.
“She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review,” the statement continued. “We regret this violation of our readers’ trust.”