# Olivia Nuzzi
**Olivia Nuzzi** is an American political journalist known for colorful profiles of figures including Donald Trump and [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-f-kennedy-jr), whose career at New York magazine ended in 2024 after she disclosed a personal relationship with Kennedy, then a presidential candidate she was covering. She later worked briefly as Vanity Fair's West Coast editor and published the memoir *American Canto* in December 2025.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Start in journalism | Began at 18 writing a political column for the alt-weekly triCityNews in Asbury Park, New Jersey, covering Chris Christie and New Jersey politics[1](https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/olivia-nuzzi-trump-nymag-daily-beast.php) • [2](https://nationalpress.org/speaker/olivia-nuzzi/) |
| Breakthrough | A 2013 front-page New York Daily News story about her internship on Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign put her on the map[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/09/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-robert-kennedy-relationship/) |
| Career climb | Daily Beast correspondent at 22; New York magazine Washington correspondent at 24 in 2017[5](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/) |
| RFK Jr. profile | Interviewed Kennedy at his Brentwood home for a November 22, 2023 New York profile; he later called it a "hit piece"[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout) |
| 2024 exit | Placed on leave in September 2024 after acknowledging a personal relationship with Kennedy; parted ways with New York in October 2024[6](https://www.axios.com/2024/09/20/new-york-mag-olivia-nuzzi-leave-robert-f-kennedy) • [7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/olivia-nuzzi-still-believes-she-has-a-future-in-the-media) |
| Later moves | Hired as Vanity Fair's West Coast editor in September 2025; contract allowed to expire at the end of 2025 by mutual agreement[8](https://apnews.com/article/77d91e3e729bdd48e9abf16a3a966d5f) |
| Memoir | *American Canto*, published December 2, 2025[9](https://www.cjr.org/news/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto.php) |
## Early career
Nuzzi's journalism career began at 18, writing a political column for the triCityNews, an alt-weekly based in [Asbury Park, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/asbury-park-new-jersey), where she covered [Chris Christie](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-christie) and New Jersey politics[1](https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/olivia-nuzzi-trump-nymag-daily-beast.php) • [2](https://nationalpress.org/speaker/olivia-nuzzi/). She continued writing through college at [Fordham University](https://www.edgepedia.org/fordham-university), contributing to the digital news magazine NSFWCorp and freelancing for Politico Magazine, New York magazine, and The Daily Beast[1](https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/olivia-nuzzi-trump-nymag-daily-beast.php).
**The Weiner internship.** Her public breakthrough came through her own brief political experience. As a teenager she interned on former Democratic representative [Anthony Weiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-weiner)'s failed 2013 New York City mayoral campaign, and the [New York Daily News](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-daily-news) commissioned a follow-up article about the campaign that became a front-page story[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/09/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-robert-kennedy-relationship/).
She became a correspondent for [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast) at 22, covering the 2016 presidential campaign; Politico named her one of the breakout media stars of that election[5](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/) • [1](https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/olivia-nuzzi-trump-nymag-daily-beast.php). In 2017, at 24, New York magazine hired her as its Washington correspondent[5](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/).
## New York magazine
At New York, Nuzzi published a series of stories that helped define the first Trump administration as a scene of infighting among outsized personalities, laced with gossipy disclosures[10](https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto-review). She profiled figures including [Steve Bannon](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-bannon)[11](https://escholarship.org/content/qt04k1138r/qt04k1138r_noSplash_4908e3f38f98db19759b42c26771a16f.pdf?t=pnw5xm) and Trump, whom she first interviewed at 21[12](https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-taco-trump-never-really-says-youre-fired-author/). Her coverage drew critics on both sides: a July 4 piece headlined "The Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Joe Biden" drew condemnation from some Democrats, while critics said her Trump piece after the first assassination attempt "humanized" him[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout). In 2022 she produced an influential piece airing insiders' misgivings about President Joe Biden's fitness to remain in office[10](https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto-review).
She described her own approach as unorthodox. In a 2021 interview she said "objectivity is certainly not something I aspire to"[13](https://www.mediaite.com/media/olivia-nuzzi-explains-her-approach-to-reporting-in-unearthed-2021-clip-objectivity-is-certainly-not-something-i-aspire-to/).
## The Kennedy relationship
In late October 2023, Nuzzi met presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at his Brentwood home for a profile published November 22, 2023[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout). Kennedy's campaign called the resulting piece a "hit piece," and the reporter and her subject argued over the story and its art[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout).
In September 2024, New York magazine announced that Nuzzi had acknowledged to editors that she had engaged in a personal relationship with "a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign," a violation of the magazine's standards on conflicts of interest and disclosures, and that she was on leave[6](https://www.axios.com/2024/09/20/new-york-mag-olivia-nuzzi-leave-robert-f-kennedy). The story was first reported by journalist Oliver Darcy in his media newsletter, Status[14](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kara-swisher-played-a-secret-role-in-breaking-rfk-jrs-sexting-scandal/). [Kara Swisher](https://www.edgepedia.org/kara-swisher), the veteran tech reporter and podcaster, had learned of sexual text messages exchanged between Nuzzi and Kennedy and passed details to the magazine[14](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kara-swisher-played-a-secret-role-in-breaking-rfk-jrs-sexting-scandal/).
A spokesperson for Kennedy said he "only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece"[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/09/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-robert-kennedy-relationship/). Nuzzi stated the relationship was "never physical" but acknowledged it should have been disclosed to avoid the appearance of a conflict[14](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kara-swisher-played-a-secret-role-in-breaking-rfk-jrs-sexting-scandal/).
**Departure and review.** [Vox Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/vox-media), New York's parent company, conducted a third-party review of her work for bias; according to reporting after the split, it found none[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/olivia-nuzzi-still-believes-she-has-a-future-in-the-media). New York magazine announced in October 2024 that Nuzzi would leave, stating that "the best course forward is to part ways"[15](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/olivia-nuzzi-memoir-the-view-sunny-hostin-b2878970.html).
## The Lizza dispute
At the time of the revelation Nuzzi was engaged to [Ryan Lizza](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-lizza), Politico's chief Washington correspondent, whom she had begun dating years earlier; they became engaged in 2022[5](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/). In an affidavit filed in October 2024, Nuzzi accused Lizza of leaking the affair's details to the magazine, blackmailing her to keep her in the relationship, and threatening her with violence; Lizza denied wrongdoing[7](https://www.thedailybeast.com/olivia-nuzzi-still-believes-she-has-a-future-in-the-media).
In November 2025, weeks before her memoir's release, Lizza published a Substack essay, "Part 1: How I Found Out," on his newsletter Telos, alleging that Nuzzi had also slept with [Mark Sanford](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-sanford), the former [South Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-carolina) governor whose failed 2020 presidential bid she had covered for New York in 2019[16](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/vanity-fair-olivia-nuzzi-mark-sanford-rfk-jr-b2870310.html). A lawyer for Nuzzi denied the allegations, saying her book "discusses the only instance in her long career as a journalist in which she had an improper relationship with someone she was covering"[16](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/vanity-fair-olivia-nuzzi-mark-sanford-rfk-jr-b2870310.html). Lizza later said his 25,000-word Substack series had not been financially lucrative and left him with an unpaid $127,000 legal bill[17](https://www.semafor.com/article/01/09/2026/ryan-lizza-olivia-nuzzi-substack-profits).
## Vanity Fair and American Canto
Vanity Fair's newly appointed global editorial director Mark Guiducci named Nuzzi West Coast editor in September 2025[18](https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/olivia-nuzzi-vanity-fair-part-ways). Her memoir *American Canto* was published on December 2, 2025[9](https://www.cjr.org/news/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto.php). In it she says the relationship with Kennedy "never turned physical" but included phone sex, intimate photos, and declarations of love; Kennedy says they never had an affair[19](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-digital-lover-olivia-nuzzis-book-flayed-as-would-be-joan-didion-on-adderall/).
The book drew largely unfavorable reviews. Alexandra Jacobs wrote in The New York Times that it was "chapterless and scattershot," an attempted letter in the style of a would-be [Joan Didion](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-didion), and reviewers in [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker), The Atlantic, and The Washington Post leveled similar criticisms[19](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-digital-lover-olivia-nuzzis-book-flayed-as-would-be-joan-didion-on-adderall/). Days after publication, Vanity Fair and Nuzzi announced they had mutually agreed to let her contract expire at the end of 2025, a decision that followed Lizza's new allegations and other past behavior[8](https://apnews.com/article/77d91e3e729bdd48e9abf16a3a966d5f) • [18](https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/olivia-nuzzi-vanity-fair-part-ways).
## Journalism ethics debate
Commentators framed the scandal as one about journalistic ethics rather than sex. Columbia Journalism Review quoted an observer describing it as "not really a scandal about sex, but a scandal about journalistic ethics," and noted it arrived alongside other ethical lapses by prominent journalists[9](https://www.cjr.org/news/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto.php). Journalism ethics scholars interviewed by Northeastern University explained the standard at issue: reporters avoid involving themselves with sources so that audiences can trust their independence and transparency[20](https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/12/05/nuzzi-wolff-journalism-ethics/).
## References
1. [Columbia Journalism Review, "Q&A: Olivia Nuzzi on covering 'psychodrama of the Beltway in the Trump era'"](https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/olivia-nuzzi-trump-nymag-daily-beast.php)
2. [National Press Foundation, speaker biography: Olivia Nuzzi](https://nationalpress.org/speaker/olivia-nuzzi/)
3. [Vanity Fair, "Where Does the Olivia Nuzzi–RFK Jr. Fallout End?"](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-fallout)
4. [The Washington Post, "New York's Olivia Nuzzi on leave as media point to alleged relationship with RFK Jr."](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/09/20/olivia-nuzzi-rfk-jr-robert-kennedy-relationship/)
5. [The Atlantic, "Olivia Nuzzi's Tell-Nothing Memoir" (Helen Lewis)](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/12/olivia-nuzzi-memoir/685106/)
6. [Axios, "N.Y. Magazine reporter on leave after alleged relationship with RFK"](https://www.axios.com/2024/09/20/new-york-mag-olivia-nuzzi-leave-robert-f-kennedy)
7. [The Daily Beast, "Olivia Nuzzi Still Believes She Has a Future in the Media"](https://www.thedailybeast.com/olivia-nuzzi-still-believes-she-has-a-future-in-the-media)
8. [AP News, "Vanity Fair parts ways with Olivia Nuzzi amid Robert F. Kennedy Jr. controversy"](https://apnews.com/article/77d91e3e729bdd48e9abf16a3a966d5f)
9. [Columbia Journalism Review, "Writing Her Way Out"](https://www.cjr.org/news/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto.php)
10. [The New Yorker, "The Scandalous Rollout Was the Best Part of Olivia Nuzzi's Memoir" (Molly Fischer)](https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/olivia-nuzzi-american-canto-review)
11. ["Presidential Administration Under Trump," eScholarship](https://escholarship.org/content/qt04k1138r/qt04k1138r_noSplash_4908e3f38f98db19759b42c26771a16f.pdf?t=pnw5xm)
12. [The Daily Beast, "Why TACO Trump Never Really Says 'You're Fired': Author"](https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-taco-trump-never-really-says-youre-fired-author/)
13. [Mediaite, "Olivia Nuzzi Explains Her Approach to Reporting in Unearthed 2021 Clip"](https://www.mediaite.com/media/olivia-nuzzi-explains-her-approach-to-reporting-in-unearthed-2021-clip-objectivity-is-certainly-not-something-i-aspire-to/)
14. [The Daily Beast, "Kara Swisher Played a Secret Role in Breaking RFK Jr.'s Sexting Scandal"](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kara-swisher-played-a-secret-role-in-breaking-rfk-jrs-sexting-scandal/)
15. [The Independent, "The View's Sunny Hostin slams 'self-serving' Olivia Nuzzi memoir"](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/olivia-nuzzi-memoir-the-view-sunny-hostin-b2878970.html)
16. [The Independent, "Vanity Fair reportedly 'looking at all the facts' on Olivia Nuzzi following claims made in fiery article by her former fiancé"](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/vanity-fair-olivia-nuzzi-mark-sanford-rfk-jr-b2870310.html)
17. [Semafor, "The business of a viral Substack scandal isn't as good as you think, Ryan Lizza says"](https://www.semafor.com/article/01/09/2026/ryan-lizza-olivia-nuzzi-substack-profits)
18. [Axios, "Olivia Nuzzi to leave Vanity Fair at end of year after contract expires"](https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/olivia-nuzzi-vanity-fair-part-ways)
19. [The Daily Beast, "RFK Jr.'s Lover's Book Flayed as 'Joan Didion on Adderall'"](https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jrs-digital-lover-olivia-nuzzis-book-flayed-as-would-be-joan-didion-on-adderall/)
20. [Northeastern University, "What happened with Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr.?"](https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/12/05/nuzzi-wolff-journalism-ethics/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Journalism › Journalists (biographies and roles) › American journalists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license