Olivia Nuzzi Accuses Ex-Fiancé Ryan Lizza Of Blackmail Amid RFK Jr Affair

New York magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi has accused her ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, a prominent journalist with Politico, of launching a blackmail and harassment campaign against her. This week, in a Washington, DC court, Nuzzi disclosed that he had a contact with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The claims came after that. The media world has been rocked by the court file and the hearing that followed, especially since Nuzzi and Lizza are both well-known political journalists. Nuzzi claims Lizza threatened to ruin her career by disclosing personal details in public. She says that this campaign started at the same time as her personal connection with Kennedy ended, following their split.The dispute reached a court hearing on Tuesday, where Nuzzi was granted a temporary no-contact order against Lizza. Lizza did not attend the hearing but has denied the allegations, describing them as “false accusations” and a diversion from Nuzzi’s “personal and professional failings.” Lizza will have the chance to reply in front of the judge during a hearing on October 15. According to Nuzzi, the harassment started in July and got worse in August after Lizza is said to have taken an electronic gadget from her. She goes on to accuse him of breaking into her devices through hacking and of secretly providing media outlets with false information about her. Nuzzi thinks Lizza pretended to be a campaign operator in order to give political campaigns negative information on her. Nuzzi also charged Lizza of leaking information about her connection with Kennedy to her employer, New York magazine, in a court document. Due to her engagement with a topic she was covering for the 2024 presidential race, Nuzzi was placed on leave last month while the magazine looked into any conflicts of interest. Politico's main Washington correspondent and co-author of Playbook, Lizza, had already informed his editors that he would not be covering Kennedy any more because of his association with Nuzzi. Since then, the accusations have worsened his position in the industry. The court has ordered police to accompany Nuzzi when she retrieves her belongings from Lizza, as the couple had lived together within the past year. Furthermore, Nuzzi said that Lizza had made violent threats against her due to their shared financial responsibilities for a book deal.Employers of Nuzzi and Lizza have refrained from commenting on the continuing legal fight, mostly remaining mute. Kennedy's representative disputed that there was any personal connection between Kennedy and Nuzzi, claiming that they had only met once for a formal interview. Both journalists must deal with the fallout from their personal and professional relationships as the story develops. The case is still being extensively followed by the national media, especially in light of its potential effects on conflicts of interest and journalism ethics. The court will go into further information about the claims during the upcoming hearing in October. Lizza will have an opportunity to formally address the charges as the legal dispute progresses.