New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi accused her ex-fiancé of organizing a campaign of blackmail and harassment against her after learning of the secret relationship she had with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to a lawsuit filed this week in Washington, D.C.
In the filing, obtained by TheWrap and first reported by CNN, Nuzzi doesn’t specify when her engagement with Politico reporter Ryan Lizza ended, but she accuses him of beginning this campaign against her in secret in July. Lizza, she says, tried to blackmail and threaten her into getting back together with him.
In August, Nuzzi alleges, Lizza stole and hacked her devices and began spreading word of the affair to peers, anonymously. He also “explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation—a threat he has since carried out,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit also attempts to suggest certain information was “doctored” and accuses Lizza of using an anonymous alias to give some of that information to an unnamed political campaign. Ultimately, Nuzzi claims Lizza exposed her behavior to her employers at New York Magazine “through a third party or anonymous channel.”
She also accuses Lizza of making violent threats in order to get her “to assume his share of financial responsibility” in a joint book they had been working on.
In a statement provided to CNN, Lizza said, “I am saddened that my ex-fiancée would resort to making a series of false accusations against me as a way to divert attention from her own personal and professional failings. I emphatically deny these allegations and I will defend myself against them vigorously and successfully.”
A Politico spokesperson told the The New York Times Tuesday that Lizza has taken a leave of absence following the allegations. The spokesperson said the outlet and Lizza “mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest for him to step back and take a leave of absence” as an internal investigation has been conducted.
The presiding judge has granted a temporary retraining order against Lizza, and granted a request for a police escort when she attempts to collect her belongings from him, CNN reported.
Nuzzi, New York Magazine’s star Washington correspondent, was put on leave Sept. 19 after it came out that she had conducted a secret affair with Kennedy for at least nine months. During this period, while he was still an independent candidate for president, she continued covering the 2024 presidential election without disclosing the relationship.
The magazine has asserted that a cursory internal review found “no evidence of bias,” nor inaccuracies in her reporting. It also said an independent third party is conducting a more thorough review of her work and conduct.
The exposure of her ethical violations kicked off a widespread and ongoing debate. Nuzzi’s defenders have claimed she’s being punished for a private sexual matter, while critics point out that she lied for months about a conflict of interest to both readers and her bosses.
In her only public statement on the matter, Nuzzi insisted that she never used Kennedy as a source once their relationship began. She also asserts that the relationship didn’t influence her coverage of the 2024 election. But social media posts appearing to promote political positions espoused by Kennedy, as well as multiple pro-RFK Jr. comments she made while participating in New York Times campaign discussions, suggest otherwise and may offer additional context. Read more about it here.
The relationship was “primarily emotional and digital” in nature, according to CNN. And Puck News, citing an individual “close” to Nuzzi, reported that she sent “demure nudes” to Kennedy.