A friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that Olivia Nuzzi was ‘obsessed’ with the former presidential candidate as she pursued him with photos and videos since her 2023 profile.
Nuzzi, a 31-year-old Washington correspondent for New York Magazine, was placed on leave after she’d admitted to her bosses to having an ’emotional and digital’ affair with Kennedy.
It was later revealed she sent the 70-year-old scion nudes described as ‘demure’ by a source who spoke to Puck News -the outlet to first report the story Friday night.
However, a Substack journalist and ‘friend’ of RFK Jr. says that this was part of a relentless campaign to woo him, though sources close to Nuzzi have claimed she was not the aggressor in the situation.
Jessica Read Kraus claims that her friend Kennedy first received contact from Nuzzi in November of 2023 after she’d published the story about going hiking with the presidential candidate.
A friend of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims that Olivia Nuzzi was ‘obsessed’ with the former presidential candidate as she pursued him since her 2023 profile
Nuzzi, a 31-year-old Washington correspondent for New York Magazine , was placed on leave after she’d admitted to her bosses to having an ’emotional and digital’ affair with Kennedy
She said Nuzzi flirted with him initially, but Kennedy responded to her by blocking the phone number.
Weeks later, Kraus says that Nuzzi sent him an email to unblock her number so that she could give him ‘urgent information about a hit piece being prepared against him’.
Kennedy relented but soon re-blocked her after she sent him a ‘provocative picture’, Kraus says.
For the next eight months, she claims Nuzzi remained blocked but would attempt to keep Kennedy engaged via emails, again claiming a hit piece was ‘imminent’ until finally, he let up.
‘Once unblocked, she bombarded him with increasingly pornographic photos and videos that he found difficult to resist,’ Kraus said.
Kennedy has reportedly hired security expert Gavin de Becker to investigate as part of a potential civil suit and even criminal referrals against Nuzzi.
‘This had nothing to do with romance, he was being chased by porn.’ de Becker said.
The investigator claims that Nuzzi had unsuccessfully tried to get Kennedy to meet her in person multiple times.
Jessica Read Kraus claims that her friend Kennedy first received contact from Nuzzi in November of 2023 after she’d published the story about going hiking with the presidential candidate
Nuzzi, seen here with ex-fiancee and Politico reporter Ryan Lizza, reportedly denies being the aggressor in the situation
Sources close to Nuzzi, however, while not denying the tension between the two, told the New York Post she was not trying to hunt him down.
‘It’s absolutely untrue that she was the aggressor, but both parties were aware of how high pressure and high risk the circumstances were and for that reason their communication was very on and off,’ the source said.
Nuzzi’s editor-in-chief David Haskell then confronted Nuzzi about the affair 5:30pm on September 13 at the magazine’s office in Manhattan, insiders told The Daily Beast, adding how Haskell had also told Nuzzi that he had been informed by a source about Kennedy bragging about his ‘romantic’ relationship with her as well.
He mentioned the nude photos specifically, the source said, citing how Nuzzi had initially denied the relationship to her boss.
But after being confronted, she allegedly came clean, the source said – as it’s been revealed her engagement to Politico reporter Ryan Lizza has been called off.
Kennedy’s alleged bragging came as he remains married to Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines. He announced a suspension to his campaign August 23, and on Thursday denied ever meeting Nuzzi – aside from for a November profile piece.
‘Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,’ a Kennedy spokesperson told CNN Thursday, as reports of the pair’s alleged relationship swirled.
A source familiar with the matter told the Beast Saturday that the two had met multiple times, but also maintained the pair’s relationship never got physical.
Nuzzi’s editor-in-chief David Haskell then confronted Nuzzi about the affair 5:30pm on September 13 at the magazine’s office in Manhattan, insiders told The Daily Beast , adding how Haskell had also told Nuzzi that he had been informed by a source about Kennedy bragging about his ‘romantic’ relationship with her as well
Haskell, meanwhile, put the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 alum on leave, with his magazine issuing a statement online Thursday acknowledging the situation.
Acknowledging the relationship as well, it read: ‘Recently our Washington Correspondent Olivia Nuzzi acknowledged to the magazine’s editors that she had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign.’
The statement asserted the relationship was occurring ‘while [Nuzzi] was reporting on the campaign, a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.
‘Had the magazine been aware of this relationship, she would not have continued to cover the presidential campaign,’ it continued. ‘An internal review of her published work has found no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias.’
The bulletin, issued just before reports of the sexts began to circulate, concluded with the revelation the staffer who has had stints at both the Daily Beast and the Daily News was currently on leave from the magazine.
‘[T]he magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review,’ it added. ‘We regret this violation of our readers’ trust.’
As indicated, Nuzzi reportedly met Kennedy Jr – the son of slain Attorney General Robert F Kennedy Sr – when doing a profile on him for a New York magazine piece published this past November.
The source who spoke to the Beast said they have since met multiple times at public functions, contrasting claims from Kennedy Jr’s camp.
Kraus, a Substack journalist and ‘friend’ of RFK Jr. says that this was part of a campaign to woo him, though sources close to Nuzzi have claimed she was not the aggressor in the situation
Kraus said Nuzzi flirted with him initially, but Kennedy responded to her by blocking the phone number
When contacted by the Beast this week, the politician reportedly did not respond, while Nuzzi reportedly declined to speak on the matter.
The magazine where she’s worked has yet to comment aside from the scathing statement.
Back In November, the then-candidate tweeted out the same article – titled The Mind-bending politics of RFK Jr’s Spoiler Campaign – calling it ‘provocative.’
Meanwhile, his denials come in the face of reports that he’s already cheated on multiple lovers in the past.
His second wife, Mary Richardson, died by suicide in 2012, and once told a friend her husband regularly used aliases during trysts across the globe.
The environmental lawyer also documented his extramarital exploits in a series of diaries obtained by the New York Post in the wake of Richardson’s death, writing hundreds of pages describing depraved sex acts in 2001.
He later said the diaries were ‘a tool for self-examination and for dealing with my spiritual struggles at the time.’
On Friday, after being met with inquiries about the trysts from a Post reporter, he said after a brief period of silence: ‘I don’t think there is any way you could have a diary or journal of mine from 2001.
‘I don’t have any comment on it,’ he added, before asserting: ‘I have no diary from 2001.’
Sources also told the Post that Kennedy Jr. and Nuzzi had been sexting at some point this year.
She currently lives in Washington, DC, where former fiancé Ryan Lizza lives as well. He works as Politico’s chief Washington correspondent.
The two, however, split last month – a revelation made by Lizza in a statement Friday explaining why the day’s edition of the Politico ‘Playbook’ did not feature a story about the affair.
‘Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancée, my editors and I have agreed that I won’t be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO,’ he said.
The two had been engaged since September of 2022, but never tied the knot.
Nuzzi lives in Washington, DC, along with former fiancé Ryan Lizza. The two split last month – a revelation made by Lizza himself in a statement Friday explaining why the day’s edition of the Politico ‘Playbook’ did not feature a story about the affair
Some of Nuzzi’s associates have reportedly advanced the idea her former flame leaked news of his ex’s extracurricular texts to RFK to Haskell and New York as a form of retribution. That remains to be seen.
Nuzzi first gained notoriety as a 20-year-old intern for disgraced Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose sexting scandal forced him to resign from Congress in 2011.
She spent a month working for Weiner before writing about her experience for the New York Daily News, and eventually taking a job with Daily Beast in 2014.
She worked there for three years, before being named to Forbes’ 2018 ’30 Under 30.’
The following year, she was awarded the American Society of Magazine Editors’ ‘NEXT’ award for breakthrough journalists under the age of 30, for her first year of work as New York’s Washington correspondent.
News of her inappropriate behavior, meanwhile, has caused ripples across the media industry – started Thursday when Status reporter Oliver Darcy first reported on the romantic relationship.
The report, published days after the alleged meeting with Haskell, described a months-long affair that Nuzzi failed to disclose to her editors – leading to Nuzzi to admit the relationship to The Daily Beast, despite maintaining it was never physical.
It said: ‘Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal.
News of Nuzzi’s inappropriate behavior has caused ripples across the media industry – started Thursday when Status reporter Oliver Darcy first reported on the romantic relationship. She has since confirmed the relationship, but denies that it ever got physical
‘During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict.
‘I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.’
The internal investigation into the two’s relationship, reportedly being carried out by New York’s parent company Vox, remains ongoing.
Hines, 59, has yet to issue a statement about her husband’s alleged affair.
