Under scrutiny, a Vanity Fair journalist reportedly set a specific date to “consummate” an alleged affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to claims made by her ex-boyfriend. The journalist, Olivia Nuzzi, purportedly planned to present Kennedy with a gift—a comic book—before their planned encounter, as revealed by former Politico reporter Ryan Lizza.
Lizza, who is 51, shared these claims in “Part Four” of his Substack series, which delves into the alleged romance between Nuzzi, 32, and RFK Jr., 71. The series has been providing alleged insights into the relationship, which has captured public attention.
According to Lizza, after months of secretive communication, Nuzzi and Kennedy Jr. intended to formalize their relationship on August 23, 2024. Interestingly, this date coincided with Kennedy’s public appearance in Glendale, Arizona, where he expressed his allegiance to Donald Trump, accompanied by his third wife, Cheryl Hines.
Lizza detailed that the supposed meeting was set to occur in Phoenix that night, but he became aware of the affair, which disrupted their plans. He further noted that Nuzzi had prepared a gift for Kennedy: a 1943 edition of “Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter,” a book inspired by the old comic strip chronicling Starr’s daring exploits as a newspaper reporter.
Lizza wrote how the alleged rendezvous was intended to happen that night in Phoenix until he learned of the unconventional affair.
‘Olivia had a present for Bobby she was going to bring: a 1943 edition of Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter, a book based on the old comic strip about Starr’s wild adventures while on assignment for a newspaper,’ he added.
Once confronted, Nuzzi ‘reluctantly canceled her rendezvous’, claimed wrote Lizza, who called the next three months ‘a Kafkaesque nightmare, driven by Bobby’s extreme paranoia about what I know’.
The two had already been ‘talking, texting, and FaceTiming for almost a year by that point, Lizza claimed.
Vanity Fair editor Olivia Nuzzi – the a Washington Correspondent for New York magazine – sought ‘to consummate’ her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during the summer of last year, her ex Ryan Lizza claimed on Substack Monday
Kennedy, seen here with his wife last year, has denied having any type of affair with Nuzzi. He remains married to 60-year-old Cheryl Hines
The journalist then recalled an August 24, 2024, phone call he had with Kennedy Jr. where he confronted the soon-to-be health secretary about his alleged interest in his then-fiancée, where ‘I found him disturbingly unrattled by my inquiries,
‘Like the kind of guy who had dealt with a version of this phone call many times before,’ Lizza, a longtime Washington reporter, wrote.
He added how ‘Kennedy’s voice was so much more broken and difficult to listen to than I had ever realized.’ Kennedy suffers from a neurological condition that makes him speak in a staccato tone.
‘How could anyone have phone sex with that?’ Lizza outright asked.
‘”The thing is that I don’t have a relationship with her,”‘ Kennedy was quoted as saying – a statement Lizza saw as a bold-faced lie.
Kennedy also allegedly promised to never speak with Nuzzi ever again.
‘In other words: There’s no relationship, but I will end the relationship,’ Lizza wrote.
The former New Yorker writer claimed the conservative’s tone was one of ‘complete indifference,’ as if Nuzzi were ‘disposably’ and set to be easily replaced.
Lizza, the ex-fiancé of Olivia Nuzzi (seen with Lizza in April 2023 here), that after months of secret correspondence, Nuzzi, 32, and Kennedy Jr. planned to solidify their fling with a round of sexual intercourse
The tryst was allegedly planned for August 23, 2024, in Arizona – hours after Kennedy Jr endorsed Trump at a rally in Glendale (pictured)
The call ended with Kennedy apologizing, LIzza claimed. ‘”I’m sorry if you’re having a bad time,’ he quoted him as saying.
Lizza also claimed Nuzzi never told Kennedy she was engaged, despite having intimate conversations about the ‘the murder of his father, the circumstances of his ex-wife’s death, and details of his troubled marriage’ to Cheryl Hines.
RFK Jr’s father Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. His killing came five years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was Robert Kennedy Sr’s brother and RFK Jr’s uncle.
That October, Nuzzi was forced to vacate her position as New York magazine’s Washington correspondent, after Lizza went public with the affair claims.
At the time, Nuzzi was found to have violated the magazine’s conflict-of-interest standards. She now works for Vanity Fair as a West Coast editor, receiving the distinction this past September.
Her memoir, American Canto, comes out Tuesday, and is set to recast the Kennedy claims.
Her employer, Vanity Fair, said last week that it is now reviewing her conduct in the wake of Lizza’s posts, which also claimed that Nuzzi served as a de facto ‘political operative’ for Kennedy during their months together.
In Lizza’s first post he also accused Nuzzi of a fling with Republican Congressman Mark Sanford.
He also detailed erotic poetry allegedly sent to his then-girlfriend by Kennedy.
‘Yr open mouth awaiting my harvest,” the Health Secretary is alleged to have said at the time.
LIzza, formerly a journalist for Politico and the New Yorker, claimed he spoke with Kennedy over the phone after he found out about the pair’s ‘digital relationship’ that had gone on for nearly a year
‘We were taken by surprise, and we are looking at all the facts,’ a rep told The New York Times.
Nuzzi has maintained the relationship was non-physical and did not influence her reporting.
Kennedy, meanwhile, has denied it altogether. He remains married to 60-year-old Cheryl Hines.
