Former New York Magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi is reportedly laying the groundwork for a return to journalism nearly two years after an undisclosed personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ended her career at one of the country’s most prominent publications.
According to a report from Status, Nuzzi has recently resurfaced in Los Angeles, where she has been networking with media executives and entertainment figures while exploring potential opportunities in the industry.
Among those she has reportedly spent time with is Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith, who returned to the company following its 2023 bankruptcy as part of an effort to rebuild Vice News.
Status reported that Nuzzi and Smith have been seen together publicly on multiple occasions in recent months, and that the pair have discussed the possibility of Nuzzi taking on a role at Vice. However, the specifics of those conversations remain unclear.
A Vice spokesperson denied that the discussions involved a position at the company, telling Status, “There is nothing related here to Vice News.”
Neither Smith nor Nuzzi publicly commented on the report.
The outlet also reported that Nuzzi has become a regular at San Vicente Bungalows, an exclusive members-only club in Los Angeles known for attracting influential executives, celebrities and media figures. The venue has reportedly served as the setting for numerous meetings as Nuzzi weighs her next professional move.
Nuzzi’s career unraveled in September 2024 after New York Magazine disclosed that she had informed editors about an undisclosed personal relationship with a former reporting subject during the 2024 presidential campaign.
The publication later identified the individual as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
According to the magazine, the relationship violated its conflict-of-interest and disclosure policies. Nuzzi was placed on leave while the publication commissioned an outside review of her campaign reporting.
Nuzzi acknowledged that her communications with a former reporting subject had become personal and admitted the relationship should have been disclosed. Kennedy’s spokeswoman denied the pair had a romantic relationship, maintaining that Kennedy had met Nuzzi only once for an interview.
New York Magazine later told staff that Nuzzi said the relationship began after she profiled Kennedy in November 2023 and ended in August 2024.
An internal review, followed by an independent investigation conducted by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, found no factual inaccuracies or evidence that the relationship influenced Nuzzi’s reporting. Nevertheless, the publication concluded that the undisclosed relationship irreparably compromised its journalistic standards, and Nuzzi and the magazine parted ways in October 2024.
The controversy soon expanded beyond questions of journalistic ethics.
Days after news of the relationship became public, Nuzzi sought a civil protection order against her then-fiancé, Politico journalist Ryan Lizza, accusing him of harassment, blackmail, hacking her electronic devices, stealing personal property and threatening to damage her career.
Lizza denied the allegations.
Although a judge initially granted a temporary protection order, Nuzzi later voluntarily dismissed the case. The highly public legal dispute ended with both parties accusing the other of attempting to weaponize both the courts and the media.
Nuzzi subsequently attempted a professional comeback.
Vanity Fair hired her as its West Coast editor in September, which many viewed as a sign that at least one major publication believed she deserved a second chance. She also released her memoir, American Canto, in which she more directly acknowledged violating journalistic ethics and admitted publicly that she had “done something wrong.”
That comeback, however, proved short-lived.
Within days of renewed public attention surrounding the book and the controversy, Vanity Fair and Nuzzi announced they had mutually agreed to let her contract expire at the end of the year.
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