New York Magazine placed its Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi on leave this week after learning that she allegedly “had a personal relationship with a former 2024 campaign correspondent while covering the campaign,” the magazine said in a statement.
According to the news portal Status, the relationship allegedly involved Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate who suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
New York Magazine did not name Kennedy in its statement, and a spokeswoman for the magazine did not respond to ABC News’ request to confirm that it was indeed him.
But neither Nuzzi nor a Kennedy representative denied in their statements that Status had reported Kennedy’s involvement.
“Earlier this year, communications between me and a former reporting partner became personal,” Nuzzi said in a statement. “During that time, I did not report directly on the individual or use him or her as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to avoid the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I disappointed, especially my colleagues in New York.”
New York Magazine Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi poses for photographers as she arrives for the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner in Washington, April 29, 2023.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Stefanie Spear, a spokeswoman for Kennedy, told ABC News: “Mr. Kennedy met Olivia Nuzzi only once in his life for an interview she requested that resulted in a defamatory article.”
When asked whether Kennedy denies the allegations of a romantic relationship, Spear did not answer.
A profile of Kennedy by Nuzzi published in November showed her hiking with the candidate near his home in Southern California.
At this point, Kennedy had recently given up his candidacy as the Democratic presidential candidate and was instead running as an independent. He was polling well in the swing states.
But a cash shortage and a wave of unfavorable headlines slowed his campaign.
Kennedy is married to actress Cheryl Hines, who has not publicly commented on the alleged relationship.
Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent, wrote in Friday’s Playbook newsletter: “Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancée, my editors and I have agreed that I will not participate in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO.”
