Journalist Ryan Lizza suggests he has split from his “former fiancée” Olivia Nuzzi in his first statement on allegations that she had an affair with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Lizza, 50, is a co-author of Politico’s Playbook and the newsletter did not immediately address the scandal until its Friday afternoon edition.
However, in the ‘Mediawatch’ section, Playbook noted how Oliver Darcy of Status News broke the news that Nuzzi had been suspended from New York Magazine after having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with RFK Jr.
“Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancée, my editors and I have agreed that I will not participate in any Kennedy coverage in Playbook or anywhere else on POLITICO,” Lizza wrote.
Lizza was previously the Washington correspondent for the New Yorker magazine but was fired over allegations of “inappropriate sexual conduct.”
But it’s her personal life that’s now in the spotlight after Nuzzi, 31, admitted to having an alleged affair with RFK Jr., 70, that began when she visited his $7 million California home to write an article last November.
Olivia Nuzzi (left) shows off her engagement ring after Ryan Lizza’s (right) proposal in September 2022. He referred to her as his “ex-fiancée” in a statement Friday afternoon
Journalist Ryan Lizza suggests he has split from his “former fiancée” Olivia Nuzzi in his first statement on allegations that she had an affair with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Lizza rose to fame after publishing a profanity-laced interview with former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci in 2017.
Scaramucci had been quoted calling former chief of staff Reince Priebus a “paranoid, paranoid schizophrenic,” as well as suggesting that chief strategist Steve Bannon “sucked his own d***.”
The Mooch also threatened to fire staff members in the article.
Critics noted that his interview was unnecessarily vulgar, especially for someone representing the United States, and Scaramucci was subsequently fired from the job after just 11 days.
Shortly after this article was published, horrific allegations also surfaced about Lizza himself, leading to his own dismissal from the prestigious magazine.
CNN, where Lizza also worked, launched an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations but “found no reason to keep him off the air.”
Politico has tapped Lizza and announced that he would co-author its flagship newsletter, Playbook, which will begin one day before President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.