It turns out that the relationship between journalist Olivia Nuzzi and former presidential candidate, whale decapitator, and her one-time subject and source, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wasn’t exactly kept as quiet as the pair — or at least Nuzzi — likely hoped.
Since news of the affair and Nuzzi’s suspension from New York Magazine came out on Thursday night, it’s spawned dozens of reports and countless tweets. But apparently, it had already been a topic of conversation among certain circles.
Following the initial news, The Daily Beast reported that the relationship between the star reporter, 31, and the Kennedy scion, 70, had been somewhat of an open secret. On Sunday night, Semafor’s Ben Smith wrote that the outlet had also gotten a tip about the scandal, one which the outlet chose to ignore, given it came from an anonymous sender who did not provide any other detail.
Kennedy’s bragging to friends about having a romantic affair with and receiving NSFW — but “demure” — photos from the journalist nearly 40 years his younger is what tipped off her boss, New York Magazine’s editor in chief David Haskell, to the relationship, the Daily Beast reported. Nuzzi initially denied the affair, the Daily Beast added, though that clearly didn’t hold up with whatever evidence Haskell had.
That corroborates the original reporting on the affair from Oliver Darcy’s newsletter Status, in which he said Kennedy “boasted” about the relationship.
Even those who didn’t know weren’t exactly stunned by who was tied up in the mess, according to Puck.
“After all, Lizza and Nuzzi delighted in their pseudo-celebrity status in town,” the outlet’s Dylan Byers wrote, referring to Nuzzi and her now-ex-fiancé, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza.
Byers added that his reporting did not lead him to believe that it was Lizza who leaked news of the relationship — meaning at least some who were not intimately involved had become aware of the situation.
Lizza and Nuzzi are not strangers to scandal and gossip. Lizza was fired by The New Yorker in 2017 for “improper sexual conduct.” In a statement at the time, Lizza said he was “dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate.”
Nuzzi, who rose quickly through the ranks thanks to dishy political reporting that often features herself as a character, admitted to entering Corey Lewandowski’s home without permission when she was covering the political operative.
No matter if you knew, suspected, or just weren’t all that shocked, some details probably caught you off guard — including this line in Nuzzi’s statement: “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict.”
And you can’t have been the only one to ponder — and then try not to ponder — exactly what a non-physical relationship with RFK Jr. and his dead brain worm entailed. According to The Daily Beast, at least some sexts were sent.
