New York magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi is placed on leave after announcing her relationship with RFK

new York
CNN
—

One of America's most renowned magazine writers, Olivia Nuzzi of New York Magazine, has been placed on leave pending a “third-party review” after Nuzzi admitted that she had “had a personal relationship with a former interviewee relevant to the 2024 campaign during her coverage of the 2024 election.”

While the magazine did not identify the person by name, a person with direct knowledge told CNN that the relationship was with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran as an independent presidential candidate and recently endorsed Donald Trump. The person said the relationship was emotional and digital in nature, not physical.

A spokesman for Kennedy told CNN: “Mr. Kennedy met Olivia Nuzzi only once in his life for an interview she requested that resulted in a defamatory article.”

The alleged relationship was first reported on Thursday evening by Oliver Darcy in Status.

In a statement to CNN, Nuzzi said her relationship with a subject of the report had “become personal” and she regretted not disclosing this to the newspaper.

“Earlier this year, communications between me and a former reporting officer became personal. During that time, I did not report directly on the individual or use him or her as a source,” she said. “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.”

In a note to readers, New York Magazine said Nuzzi was “currently on leave” and the magazine was conducting “a more thorough third-party review.”

Nuzzi wrote a profile of Kennedy last November and has since written numerous other articles about Trump and the 2024 campaign.

According to the magazine, Nuzzi “recently” admitted to having had a relationship with a person he reported on, which was a “violation of the magazine's standards regarding conflicts of interest and disclosures.”

“Had the magazine known about this relationship, it would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,” New York Magazine's statement continued.

The magazine also said that “an internal review of their published work has found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias.” Nevertheless, the magazine said, “we regret this breach of trust from our readers.”