New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi reportedly repeatedly denied allegations of sexting with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when confronted by her superiors.
The magazine's editor-in-chief, David Haskell, reportedly heard rumors of the affair and confronted Nuzzi. The Daily Beast.
However, after being grilled, she eventually admitted to having personal relationships with descendants of the Kennedy family.
New York Magazine, Haskell and Nuzzi declined to comment to The Post.
A spokesman for Mr. Kennedy on Sunday denied another allegation in the Daily Beast report – that Mr. Kennedy bragged to associates that he had intimate photos of Ms. Nuzzi, thereby unwittingly tipping off Ms. Nuzzi's superiors.
“That is simply false,” a spokesman for Kennedy told The Washington Post, adding that RFK Jr. was not bragging about owning Nuzzi's photo.
A spokesman declined to comment on whether Kennedy actually received intimate photos of Nuzzi.
Last Thursday, New York magazine announced it was placing the 31-year-old journalist on administrative leave until an independent investigation into the situation was completed.
The publication called the incident a “violation of the magazine's standards regarding conflicts of interest and disclosure” and said an internal investigation into Nas' article “found no evidence of error or bias in the published article.”
Sources previously told The Post that Ms Nuzzi and Mr Kennedy, 70, had not been able to hide their romantic relationship well.
“They weren't really paying attention. There's a reason why New York magazine found out about it,” a source said.
Ms. Nuzzi, the magazine's star political reporter, has remained largely silent about the details of her affair with Mr. Kennedy.
For much of the months-long exchange, Ms. Nuzzi was engaged to Ryan Lizza, Politico's Washington bureau chief and author of the publication's flagship newsletter, Politico Playbook. Ms. Lizza announced in a statement released by Politico that she had ended their engagement.
Kennedy, who is married to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Cheryl Hines, He has been accused of infidelity in the past, including storing details of 43 rumored lovers on his phone.
Hines celebrated his 59th birthday on Saturday.
The Washington Post has reported extensively on Kennedy's alleged affairs, including details from three of his diaries.
Amid the scandal, Kennedy did not attend last weekend's wedding in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, of Grace Kennedy Allen, granddaughter of the late Senator Ted Kennedy.
He was later seen wearing a wedding ring, while Hines was not. Page Six previously reported.
Both Nuzzi and Kennedy have downplayed some of the rumors but have remained tight-lipped about the details of their personal interactions.
“While there was no physical relationship, I should have made this public to avoid creating the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not making this public sooner and I apologize to those I let down, particularly my colleagues in New York,” Nuzzi said in a statement.
“The only time Mr Kennedy ever met Olivia Nuzzi in his life was during an interview at her request, which spawned a smear campaign,” a spokesman for Ms Nuzzi previously said.
Some sources dispute Kennedy's claim that he and Nuzzi only met once, but there seems to be no concrete evidence to disprove the claim.
Her article, written in November 2023 based on an interview with Kennedy, was titled:The heart-warming politics of RFK Jr.'s spoiler campaign.”
“It's all anyone is talking about,” a New York magazine source previously told The Post.
Sources offer conflicting accounts of who was the “aggressor” in Nuzzi's relationship with Kennedy.
“She pursued him aggressively,” one source close to the Kennedys told The Post. “She went after him pretty hard. Bobby was constantly stonewalling her. It was kind of scary. She was crazy about him. I think she still is.”
But Nuzzi's camp denied that.
“It's a complete lie that she was aggressive, but both parties recognized how high-pressure and dangerous the situation was, which is why communication was so intermittent,” a source defending Nuzzi told The Washington Post.
Another source close to Nuzzi told the Post, “In Olivia's view, it's completely inaccurate to call this a relationship or an affair. It was at best a fling.”
Nuzzi is a renowned journalist who was named to Forbes' “30 Under 30” in 2018 and received the American Society of Magazine Editors' “NEXT” award in 2019.
