Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has denied claims that he engaged in a romantic relationship with New York Magazine‘s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi.
“Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,” a spokesperson for the presidential candidate told the media newsletter Status, which first reported on the alleged relationship, and other outlets.
Kennedy, 70, partially suspended his independent run for the White House in August and has since endorsed Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. Trump’s campaign has named Kennedy to his transition team. Kennedy has been married since 2014 to actor Cheryl Hines.
Nuzzi, 31, said in a statement to The New York Times that “some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal” earlier this year.
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“During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source,” she said. “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.”
A spokesperson for Kennedy has been contacted for further comment via email. Nuzzi has been contacted for comment via email.
Nuzzi did not name Kennedy in her statement, but journalist Oliver Darcy reported in Status that the relationship in question was with Kennedy, citing a person close to Nuzzi. According to Status, it did not begin until after the profile she wrote of him was published in November last year.
New York Magazine said that Nuzzi, who has worked for the publication since 2017, has been placed on leave.
In a statement posted online on Thursday night, the magazine said Nuzzi had acknowledged to the magazine’s 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.”
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The magazine said the relationship was “a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.”
An internal review of Nuzzi’s work found “no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias,’ the magazine added.” She is currently on leave from the magazine, and the magazine is conducting a more thorough third-party review.”
Nuzzi, known for her deeply reported political features, has not published anything about Kennedy since November.
Her most recent feature is an interview with Trump published earlier in September. That piece, and a July feature about President Joe Biden, have been updated with a note to readers containing the magazine’s statement about Nuzzi.
In March, Nuzzi described the 2024 election as a “three-man race” to The New York Times contributing opinion writer Frank Bruni.
She said that Americans were lucky to “have a range of third-party candidates to choose from,” including Kennedy who she said was polling “competitively.”
She added that “the establishment press has been reluctant to cover Kennedy like a serious contender because they fear they will face criticism for ‘platforming an anti-vaxxer.’ But the establishment press doesn’t get to decide who voters take seriously.”
