Overview

RFK Jr. Olivia Nuzzi Alleged Cheating Scandal refers to a controversy and scandal involving former independent presidential candidate of the 2024 election Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi. In September 2024, the magazine responded to inquiries from Status News about the relationship between the journalist and RFK Jr., issuing a statement confirming that the reporter had been placed on temporary leave after the magazine learned about "a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign." Memes about RFK Jr. and Olivia Nuzzi's relationship spread after internet users shared excerpts from her profile of the candidate and gathered further information about the nature of their relationship, which Nuzzi and RFK allege was entirely emotional and "digital" and not physical in nature.

Background

Olivia Nuzzi's profile of RFK Jr. was published in New York magazine on November 22nd, 2023. Nuzzi has been a Washington correspondent for the magazine since 2017^[8] and has been covering politics for various publications since 2011, including the Daily Beast.^[9]

On September 19th, 2024, Status News^[1] published an article about Olivia Nuzzi being placed on leave after New York magazine learned that she allegedly engaged in a romantic relationship with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The news piece quoted New York magazine's statement.

In a statement provided by Nuzzi, she claims that the relationship did not begin until after her November 2023 profile on the former candidate was published and that it was "never physical." A spokesperson for RFK Jr. issued a statement from his end, writing, "Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece."

CNN media analyst @brianstelter reposted the story to his X^[2] / Twitter account on September 19th, 2024, gathering over 9,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

The news was reposted to the subreddit /r/Fauxmoi^[6] by Redditor /u/champdo on September 19th, 2024, where it gathered over 5,000 upvotes in a day. Also on September 19th, Redditor /u/Attorney_For_Me posted a Distracted Boyfriend meme to /r/AdviceAnimals^[7] that gathered over 200 upvotes in a day.

Various internet users reacted to the news about Olivia Nuzzi claiming to have had a "digital" affair with RFK Jr. as the story went viral, with X^[3] user @JohnDiLillo posting an extract for Nuzzi's profile of RFK Jr. on September 19th in which she writes about how his dogs have chewed up the insides of his car, how the "death machine smells so bad" she thought she would pass out, and that RFK Jr. barked "shut up you idiots!" at his dogs while driving rashly.

Also on September 19th, 2024, X^[4] user @OliviaLittle posted a She Was His Queen meme using images of Nuzzi and RFK Jr., gathering over 5,000 likes in a day.

On September 19th, X^[5] user @mollytaft quoted Nuzzi's statement clarifying that her relationship with RFK Jr. was not physical, writing, "ok sexting rfk jr is somehow even crazier," and gathering over 1,600 likes in a day.

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References