Media

New York Magazine puts Olivia Nuzzi on leave after report of relationship with RFK Jr.

by Dominick Mastrangelo - 09/20/24 9:37 AM ET

New York magazine has placed a top reporter on leave after it discovered she had been involved in an inappropriate relationship with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“Recently our Washington Correspondent Olivia 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,” the magazine wrote in a note to readers late Thursday.

Media critic Oliver Darcy first reported the subject in question was Kennedy, the former independent presidential candidate who has since thrown his support behind former President Trump.

Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, the outlet said, Nuzzi “would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign.”

“An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,” it concluded. “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, in a statement to The New York Times late Thursday, confirmed that earlier this year, “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.”

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A representative for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nuzzi is a star member of the Washington press corps who is known for her deep sources in national politics and extensive reporting on public figures for regular feature stories.

Earlier this month, she published an interview with former President Trump, conducted at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida.

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