Olivia Nuzzi Claims Ex-Fiancé Ryan Lizza ‘Blackmailed’ Her Over RFK Jr. Sexting Romance, Threatened Her With Violence, Sought Her Ruin

New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi has come out publicly against her ex-fiancé, accusing him in a dramatic court filing of crafting a shadowy harassment and blackmail campaign to weaponize an intimate, non-physical relationship she was carrying on with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.The star reporter, currently suspended while her employer conducts an investigation, made the allegations before a judge in Washington, DC’s Superior Court as part of a request for a restraining order against Mr. Lizza, which was granted. In her legal filing, Ms. Nuzzi alleges that Mr. Lizza, the chief Washington correspondent for Politico, blackmailed her in an attempt to coerce her back into their relationship and that when she refused, he moved against her, according to CNN.“[Lizza] explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation—a threat he has since carried out,” Ms. Nuzzi wrote in a new court filing. It’s not clear if Ms. Nuzzi intends further legal action against Mr. Lizza, such as suing him for monetary damages, in addition to securing a restraining order.The political journalist told the court that Mr. Lizza began harassing her at the start of July and that by the next month, he had stolen a personal electronic device and hacked into several others to steal information that he used to shop around to various media outlets. Lovebirds torn asunder Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza are now feuding over the dissolution of their joint book deal. TwitterShe also alleged that some of the personal information may have been altered to make her look worse, and that Mr. Lizza impersonated “an anonymous campaign operative” to give the damning information to an unspecified political campaign. Ms. Nuzzi also alleges that Mr. Lizza had contacted the brass at New York magazine “through a third party or anonymous channel.” While Mr. Kennedy is not named in her filing, she’s clearly referring to him when she mentions “the affair” or “digital relationship.”Mr. Lizza is also accused by Ms. Nuzzi of threatening her with violence if she didn’t “assume his share of financial responsibility” for a contract to jointly author a book. The publication status of the book was not immediately known, nor is the nature of this “financial responsibility.”Ms. Nuzzi was granted a temporary no-contact order against Mr. Lizza. He will be required to attend the next hearing on October 15. When she goes to retrieve her belongings from the home they once shared, she will be accompanied by police officers. Mr. Lizza was not present at the court hearing and did not file a response to the court, but he did make a harsh statement to CNN. Ryan Lizza, Olivia Nuzzi and Oliver Stone at Arleigh and Roberta Burke Theater at Washington, DC. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Nuclear Now“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,” he said. “I emphatically deny these allegations and will defend myself against them vigorously and successfully.”In 2017, Mr. Lizza, a divorced father of two, was fired from his prestigious job at the New Yorker magazine, at the height of the #metoo period, for “improper sexual conduct,” which Mr. Lizza strongly denied. He was also suspended from his on-camera contributor job at CNN, but CNN quickly reinstated him after clearing him in an internal investigation. He then landed at Politico, a rare example of a prominent journalist accused of sexual misconduct who managed to salvage his career.News of the “personal relationship” between Ms. Nuzzi and Mr. Kennedy was first reported last month by former CNN Media reporter Oliver Darcy in his new Status newsletter. People familiar with the matter confirmed to Mr. Darcy that it was Mr. Kennedy with whom she had been involved.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a New York Sun event at Lincoln Center on September 30, 2024. Caroline McCaughey/The New York SunPuck recently reported that during the affair, Ms. Nuzzi sent Mr. Kennedy “demure nudes.”The reporter was suspended by the editors at New York pending a third-party investigation that is reviewing her work for inaccuracies and evidence of bias.“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Ms. Nuzzi said in a statement to CNN after the revelations went public. “I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues in New York.”When news broke of the affair, a spokesperson for Mr. Kennedy said he’d only met Ms. Nuzzi once while she was reporting an article he claimed was a “hit job.” Questioned later by Fox News and then Monday night by the Sun, Mr. Kennedy declined to comment on the matter.New York Magazine Washington Correspondent Olivia Nuzzi attends Vox Media’s 2022 Code Conference, September 7, 2022 at Beverly Hills, California. Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for Vox MediaBut Mr. Kennedy’s security consultant, Gavin de Becker, gave some insight into the former presidential candidate’s perspective when he said Mr. Kennedy is considering civil litigation and even seeking criminal charges related to allegations that he had an inappropriate “personal relationship” with Ms. Nuzzi.In a conversation last month with the popular Substack writer Jessica Reed Kraus, who’s close to Mr. Kennedy, Mr. de Becker, who also runs security for Elon Musk, confirmed he’s advising the former presidential candidate on the Nuzzi matter. Ms. Reed Kraus also said in her HouseInhabit newsletter that Ms. Nuzzi, whom she said was not to be trusted, was aggressively pursuing Mr. Kennedy to get attention.“This had nothing to do with romance. He was being chased by porn.” Mr. de Becker told Ms. Reed Kraus, adding that Mr. Kennedy had repeatedly blocked Ms. Nuzzi’s number and email address during the eight months after her profile on him was published in the pages of New York magazine. Writing anew on Tuesday, Ms. Reed Kraus said she’s preparing a long follow up article about Ms. Nuzzi. “The insinuation that I should go easy on Nuzzi is irritating,” she wrote. “I don’t see anyone urging male writers to ‘be nice’ in similar situations. I’ll write as I see fair, just like I always do.”

Olivia Nuzzi Claims Ex-Fiancé Ryan Lizza ‘Blackmailed’ Her Over RFK Jr. Sexting Romance, Threatened Her With Violence, Sought Her Ruin

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