A New York magazine political reporter who allegedly engaged in an undisclosed affair with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged she began a personal relationship with a “reporting subject,” but denied that it became physical.
Olivia Nuzzi, New York’s 31-year-old Washington columnist, was placed on leave for what the magazine called a “violation of our readers’ trust.”
In a statement sent to the Daily Beast, Nuzzi, who previously worked for the Beast between 2016-2017, acknowledged a relationship with one of her sources, but denied that it ever became physical.
“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. 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.”
The magazine said Nuzzi was “engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign.” The relationship violated the publication’s editorial standards.
“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” New York said in a statement.
The magazine’s response did not identify who the subject was, but media reporter Oliver Darcy’s Status newsletter identified him as former independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
A representative for Kennedy denied the story after its publication to Status, claiming, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
A representative for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
According to the report, Kennedy and Nuzzi were involved in a romantic relationship that did not begin until after she wrote a profile on the candidate in November 2023, shortly after he dropped out of the Democratic Primary and began a campaign as an independent.
New York said it conducted an internal review of Nuzzi’s work on the 2024 campaign trail, but found “no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.” The magazine also said it was “conducting a more thorough third-party review” of the incident.
Kennedy has been married since 2014 to actor Cheryl Hines, who has not publicly backed her husband’s rightward turn. Kennedy has since dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump.
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