Olivia Nuzzi has found an ally in Monica Lewinsky amid her growing scandals, with the controversial journalist confirming the activist — known for her headline-making affair with Bill Clinton — has reached out to her.
Nuzzi praised Lewinsky for being “incredibly kind” to her during her Tuesday appearance on “The Bulwark Podcast,” where she addressed her digital affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other misconduct allegations brought about by her ex, fellow journalist Ryan Lizza.
However, before diving into all of that, Nuzzi shouted out Lewinsky for showing her kindness as details of her private life made their way into the press.
“She’s so nice. She’s incredibly kind,” Nuzzi said to host Tim Miller. “But yeah, that’s a good indicator [of controversy]. It’s sort of the Lewinsky scale of kindness. It’s like the Richter scale for public shaming, I think. So, yeah, that and if your agent tells you, ‘I love you,’ [but] doesn’t explain why they’re texting you that.”
When asked if Lewinsky had shared any wisdom with her, Nuzzi noted, “I don’t want to violate her any more than the country has done for so long, but she’s been really, really, really kind, and I’m very appreciative.”
As Miller highlighted in their conversation, the Lewinsky-Clinton affair (which became public in 1998) occurred at the dawn of the internet age, and so, her scandal may’ve been “a little bit of a different animal” to what Nuzzi is facing today.
Yet, Nuzzi defended that Lewinsky was the victim of “the first internet-based shaming.” Though, Miller suggested it wasn’t as aggressive as modern social media’s “minute-by-minute” commentary.
Nuzzi’s comments come as she faces backlash for her alleged sexting affair with RFK Jr., which she details in her new memoir, “American Canto.” (Yet, she does not name Kennedy directly.)
Nuzzi profiled Kennedy for New York magazine, before exiting her position in 2024. She later admitted to the relationship, saying it “should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict.” Kennedy, however, denied the affair outright, stating he had “only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Her ex-fiancé Lizza has suggested Kennedy was not the first powerful person or story subject Nuzzi has gotten inappropriately close to doing her career. In a November Substack post, Lizza accused Nuzzi of also having an affair with Mark Sanford, the former governor of South Carolina and onetime Republican presidential candidate, who she wrote about for a New York magazine piece in 2019. Nuzzi’s attorney denied the accusation.
Nuzzi has since hit back at the allegations, stating Lizza’s posts read as “obsessive and violating fan fiction-slash-revenge porn” meant to “harass, humiliate, and harm” her.
