Olivia Nuzzi abruptly paused her virtual interview with Tim Miller on Tuesday after tearing up over questions about her alleged relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and her actions thereafter.
While promoting her new book “American Canto” and sharing her side of the story, Vanity Fair’s West Coast Editor admitted to the “Bulwark Podcast” host that it went against journalistic ethics to help the Health and Human Services Secretary’s then-presidential campaign: “I write about what I did wrong.”
However, when Miller began to push the subject, asking why she didn’t speak out about Kennedy even after their scandal came to light, Nuzzi attempted to answer the question before tearing up and asking for a break.
“I lost my job, right? I was fired and I was in hiding, and I was afraid. I was terrified,” she explained. “I write in the book about, you know, I was terrified of the man I did not marry and I was very worried about people knowing where I was.”
At that, Nuzzi began to tear up, ultimately asking to pause the interview and seemingly turning her camera off. She did, however, return to finish the chat.
Nuzzi exited New York magazine in 2024 following revelations of her inappropriate relationship with RFK Jr. as she was covering the 2024 election for the magazine. She’s come under increased scrutiny amid the rollout for her book as her former fiancé, journalist Ryan Lizza, has accused her of acting as RFK Jr.’s “personal political operative” during that race.
In his series of Substack posts, Lizza also alleged that Nuzzi had an affair with former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whom she profiled for NY Mag in 2019. Nuzzi dismissed Lizza’s post this week as “fan fiction-slash-revenge porn.” Still, Lizza’s allegations have raised uncomfortable questions for her current employer, Vanity Fair, which hired her in September.
Elsewhere in her “Bulwark” interview, the former New York magazine Washington, D.C., correspondent praised Monica Lewinksy for her kindness amid this high-profile controversy.
“She’s so nice. She’s incredibly kind,” Nuzzi told 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, Nuzzi further 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.”
“American Canto” is out now.
