Vanity Fair parts ways with Olivia Nuzzi amid Robert F. Kennedy Jr. controversy

Vanity Fair has announced it will part ways with West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi, as the fallout continues from revelations about her undisclosed relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while she covered him as a political reporter. The magazine and Nuzzi released a joint statement Friday indicating they “have mutually agreed, in the best interest of the magazine, to let her contract expire at the end of the year.”

Nuzzi, 32, had only been hired as Vanity Fair’s West Coast editor in September, following her dismissal from New York magazine where she had built a reputation as a star political reporter known for her colorful profiles. Her career at New York ended abruptly when it came to light that she had engaged in what was described as an intense personal relationship with Kennedy while he was a presidential candidate and a subject of her reporting.

The controversy has rocked media circles, raising serious questions about journalistic ethics and the boundaries between reporters and their subjects. Kennedy, who initially ran as an independent candidate before endorsing Donald Trump, was recently appointed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in the incoming Trump administration.

The timing of Nuzzi’s departure from Vanity Fair coincides with the release of her memoir “American Canto,” in which she reflects on her relationship with Kennedy (referred to only as “The Politician”) and the subsequent professional fallout. The memoir also discusses her relationship with former fiancé Ryan Lizza, a journalist at Politico, whom she refers to as “the man I did not marry.”

Though Vanity Fair published excerpts from Nuzzi’s memoir, the book’s release was overshadowed by a series of Substack posts from Lizza containing potentially damaging allegations about Nuzzi’s professional conduct. Among other claims, Lizza alleged that Nuzzi had an affair with another profile subject and had offered political advice to Kennedy—both considered significant breaches of journalistic ethics.

The public feud between the former couple intensified when Lizza published text messages between Kennedy and Nuzzi that he had allegedly intercepted. In a Substack interview with writer Emily Sundberg, Nuzzi characterized her ex-fiancé’s posts as “fiction-slash-revenge porn.”

The memoir at the center of this controversy has faced harsh criticism and appears to be struggling commercially. As of Friday afternoon, “American Canto” ranked a distant 6,094 on Amazon’s bestseller list. Literary critics have been equally unsparing. Helen Lewis, writing for The Atlantic, dismissed the book, saying: “A tell-all memoir? Ha. This is a tell-nothing memoir.”

Throughout what she herself has acknowledged as a difficult book launch, Nuzzi has attempted to maintain a sense of humor. She recently published a Substack column titled “Signs Your Book Rollout Has Gone Awry,” which included the wry observation that one such sign would be “Monica Lewinsky reaches out to check on your mental health.”

The controversy highlights ongoing tensions in political journalism regarding conflicts of interest and transparency. Major news organizations typically have strict policies requiring journalists to disclose personal relationships that might influence their reporting or create the appearance of bias.

For Vanity Fair, a Condé Nast publication known for its coverage of politics, entertainment, and culture, the decision to part ways with Nuzzi represents an effort to distance itself from a controversy that has raised questions about journalistic integrity at a time when public trust in media remains fragile.

Neither Nuzzi nor representatives from Vanity Fair have provided additional comments beyond their joint statement about her upcoming departure.