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NEED TO KNOW
Political journalist Olivia Nuzzi lost her job at New York magazine in fall 2024 after disclosing an alleged personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom she had written about on the campaign trail
Nuzzi is now the West Coast editor at Vanity Fair and has a new book, American Canto, coming out Dec. 2 that promises to share her side of the widely reported sexting scandal
Nuzzi was profiled by The New York Times ahead of her book's release, revealing that she is no longer in touch with Kennedy, who has maintained he only met her once while being interviewed for her 2023 "hit piece"
More than a year afterlosing her job atNew Yorkmagazineafter admitting to an alleged personal relationship with former presidential candidateRobert F. Kennedy Jr., journalistOlivia Nuzziis telling her side of the story.
In a profile published Friday, Nov. 14,The New York Timespreviews her new book,American Canto,which comes out Dec. 2, for the first time. Nuzzi, who was recently hired as the new West Coast editor atVanity Fair, told theTimesshe wrote the book in secret in Los Angeles — where she says she retreated to after the scandal broke.
According to theTimes, she writes that her romantic relationship with Kennedy began after she interviewed him for along-form featurepublished in November 2023.
Kennedy has been married to actressCheryl Hinessince 2014, while Nuzzi was engaged at the time to fellow political journalist Ryan Lizza, whomshe would go on to sue in September 2024as their relationship dissolved in public view. (She eventuallydropped her protective order against Lizza.)
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American Cantodocuments the now-health secretary's alleged digital relationship with Nuzzi, as well as what she witnessed in "Trumpworld," according to theTimes.
Nuzzi, 32, alleges in the book that Kennedy said "I love you" first, called her "Livvy," wrote her poems and promised to take a bullet for her. She also credits him with sayinghe wanted to have her baby, despite suggesting that she and Kennedy — who is 39 years her senior — never consummated their relationship, theTimesreports.
Nuzzi reportedly writes that she and Kennedy chose their favorite parts of each other — hers was his nose, while his was her mouth — and they shared a "common language, common skepticisms, common ideas about what was beautiful, common beliefs about what was valuable," according to theTimes.
It remains unclear how their alleged fling became public in September 2024, though Nuzzi blames Lizza, according to theTimes.
She was fired in October 2024 after spending weeks on leave. The same month that she departed the publication, she filed her protective order against Lizza,alleging he had hacked into her devices to find personal informationand tried to blackmail her back into a relationship after their engagement ended.
Lizzadenied the accusations, calling them "defamatory lies." TheTimesreported in its story Friday that Nuzzi did not offer evidence to support her claims.
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Nuzzi also writes that she and Kennedy disclosed personal details about their lives: He allegedly told her that he still uses psychedelics and smoked dimethyltryptamine, or DMT. She shared with him that she "liked uppers" and took Adderall, according to theTimes.
She writes in the book that she provided him advice about how to manage campaign issues, but told theTimesthat she and Kennedy are no longer in touch and it's been a year since she last spoke with him.
When the scandal broke publicly last fall, before they cut off communication, she seemingly offered to help him get through the backlash, claiming in her book that he had said, "If it's just sex, I can survive it," according to theTimes.
Kennedy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Friday, Nov. 14. His spokesperson previouslymaintained that the two had only met once, when Nuzzi interviewed Kennedy for the "hit piece" inNew Yorkmagazine.
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