A New York magazine journalist was purportedly placed on leave after a romantic relationship with Trump ally Robert F. Kennedy was revealed. Fellow journalist Oliver Darcy exposed the scandal, writing that Olivia Nuzzi engaged in a personal relationship with “a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign” while simultaneously reporting on that campaign. Darcy said this violated journalistic standards and amounted to a conflict of interest.
While acknowledging that 31-year-old Nuzzi’s editors would not have permitted her to continue covering the Presidential election if they were aware of the alleged romance, Darcy conceded that there is no evidence of bias or impropriety in the work she has produced so far. Nevertheless, he wrote that she is “currently on leave from the magazine,” and the publication would conduct a “thorough, third-party review.”
Ms. Nuzzi issued a statement on the alleged relationship in which she acknowledged becoming close to Mr. Kennedy while she wrote a profile on him last November, but she denied a sexual element. “The relationship was never physical,” she said. The journalist acknowledged, however, that it was inappropriate and she should have informed her employers. Additionally, Nuzzi insisted that she had not covered Kennedy in her Presidential campaign work.
A spokesperson for 70-year-old Mr. Kennedy, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, denied the relationship and said he had only met Nuzzi once, “for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Kennedy initially entered the Democratic primary race but withdrew under a cloud after accusing the party of lacking commitment to democracy by refusing to allow competition against Joe Biden. After leaving the party, Mr. Kennedy stood as an independent, and in a discussion with the New York Times, Olivia Nuzzi touted him, insisting the sprint to the White House was a “three-horse race.” She said the independent was polling well, especially among young people, and offering an alternative to a Biden—Trump rematch.
In August, however, Kennedy withdrew his name from swing state ballots and threw his weight behind Donald Trump. Appearing with the former President in Arizona, Kennedy said the decision gave him “internal peace.” However, his famous family was less enthusiastic and accused him of betraying everything his father, the late Democrat Senator Robert Kennedy, had fought for throughout his long political career.
