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Vanity Fair announced it has parted ways with West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi amid new allegations about her affair with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday (December 5).
Nuzzi and Vanity Fair issued a joint statement obtained by the New York Post confirming that they “mutually agreed, in the best interest of the magazine, to let her contract expire at the end of the year.”
Nuzzi's ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, publicly shared several new claims about her alleged affair with Kennedy, 71, and behavior as a political reporter on his Substack account in recent weeks, claiming she also had an affair with former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford while covering his 2020 presidential campaign. Lizza shared unearthed evidence, including an incomplete handwritten note penned by Nuzzi on hotel stationary to Sanford that stated, “Mark, I am sorry. I can’t say that I wish I hadn’t touched you, hadn’t.”
Lizza also claimed that Nuzzi, 32, transformed from a “journalist to a political operative” for Kennedy during their affair and fed him dirt from her sources, plotting ways to kill damaging stories during his unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid. Nuzzi, who became Vanity Fair's West Coast editor earlier this year, was put on review in November after Lizza's allegations were shared.
The journalist launched her book, American Canto, detailing her affair with Kennedy under the guise of an unnamed politician this week. Nuzzi, who was named to Forbes' 2018 '30 under 30' list and a finalist for the 2023 National Magazine Award for feature writing, publicly admitted in a statement that “the nature of some communications between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal" during her tenure with New York Magazine.
The journalist didn't initially mention Kennedy, 71, by name, however, penned a profile on the former presidential candidate that was published in November 2023 and was reported to have had a relationship with him at some point after that, Status News initially reported. Nuzzi and Kennedy were allegedly sexting while she was still engaged to Lizza, a former Politico chief Washington correspondent, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the New York Post.
Kennedy is married to actress Cheryl Hines, best known for her role as Cheryl David in the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm. Nuzzi and New York Magazine "parted ways" following her alleged digital affair with Kennedy last October.
"Last month, the magazine enlisted the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to review Olivia Nuzzi’s work during the 2024 campaign," he magazine announced in a statement shared on its website. "They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best course forward is to part ways. 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."
On September 23, 2024, the New York Post reported that Kennedy was investigating a potential lawsuit against Nuzzi, who allegedly “bombarded him with increasingly pornographic photos and videos” and tricked him to unblock her numbers, according to political blogger Jessica Reed Kraus, who knows both parties. Kennedy reportedly hired security expert Gavin de Becker to probe the situation as he's pursuing civil -- and possible criminal -- litigation against Nuzzi, who last week claimed the two were sexting prior to her being placed on leave by her employer.
“This had nothing to do with romance,” de Becker said. “He was being chased by porn.”