Who is Olivia Nuzzi? Reporter who sent nudes to RFK Jr out of New York Magazine
A combination photo of Olivia Nuzzi and Rober F Kennedy Jr
The New York Magazine has parted ways with reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who was in headlines over nude pics sent to former US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr during a brief text-based affair.
While it was reported that RFK Jr used to boast about having her nudes, his camp later said he had tried to block her number and was 'tricked' into unblocking.
She told him to unblock her as she had information about a hit piece being prepared against RFK Jr, according to his team, which also denied him having boasted about the nudes.
In August, RFK Jr exited his low-chance yet high-profile campaign for president as an independent candidate and endorsed Republican Donald Trump.
Watch: Robert F Kennedy Jr to dropout of US Presidential race
Who is Olivia Nuzzi?
Olivia Nuzzi is a political journalist who became the story.
Nuzzi was the Washington Correspondent of New York Magazine for nearly eight years from 2017.
She was earlier a writer for The Daily Beast and covered Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
She developed what has been described as an 'emotional and digital' relationship over text messages with RFK Jr at a time when he was considering running for president. The affair started after she did an article on RFK Jr, a scion of the storied Kennedy political family.
At some point, she reportedly sent him nudes of herself.
Also read: Olivia Nuzzi allegedly sent nudes to Robert F Kennedy Jr during 'sexting' affair: Report
Nuzzi had initially remained silent about the relationship, but later admitted to the magazine about an 'affair with a source', without naming RFK Jr. She eventually named the politician as media reports on the affair started piling up.
She was sent on leave by New ork Magazine, which conducted an internal investigation into whether her relationship caused any bias in her reporting of him.
It found none.
In a statement on Monday (Oct 21), the New York magazine said the law firm it had hired to review Nuzzi’s work found "no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias" in her reporting.
The reporter and the magazine, nevertheless, decided mutually that parting ways was the best option, it said.
The magazine praised Nuzzi's talent and thanked her for her contributions.
"Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work over her nearly eight years as our Washington Correspondent. We wish her the best,” it said.
For her part, Nuzzi's lawyer said she was satisfied with the conclusions of the investigations and noted her successful tenure.
The attorney was 'gratified though not surprised that two different investigations have determined that her reporting on the 2024 campaign was sound and that she did nothing wrong.'
When the issue blew up, Nuzzi issued a statement saying the relationship should have been disclosed to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.
While she regretted the oversight and apologised to her colleagues and readers, Nuzzi insisted that the relationship was never physical and that she did not report on RFK Jr during the affair.
In an earlier statement in September, the publication had said her conduct violated its standards regardingconflicts of interest and disclosures.
“Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” said the statement issued on 19 September.
Speaking to CNN, an RFK Jr spokesperson had saidthat Kennedy met Olivia Nuzzi only once in his life for an interview she requested, "which yielded a hit piece”.
(With inputs from agencies)
