Vanity Fair has launched a review of its West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi's past conduct following explosive allegations from her ex-fiancé that she had an inappropriate relationship with a politician she previously covered.
The Bombshell Allegations
Ryan Lizza, a well-known journalist and Nuzzi's former fiancé, publicly accused her this week of having an affair with former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. The allegations came in an essay published shortly after Vanity Fair ran an excerpt from Nuzzi's upcoming book "American Canto," where she described falling in love with a presidential candidate she was covering.
While Nuzzi referred to the figure only as "the politician" in her book, the unnamed man is widely understood to be married Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both Kennedy and Sanford were subjects Nuzzi covered during her tenure at New York Magazine.
Vanity Fair's Response
A Vanity Fair spokesperson told The New York Times: "We were taken by surprise, and we are looking at all the facts" — indicating that Nuzzi's position at the magazine, where she was hired just last September, could be in jeopardy.
Neither Condé Nast, Vanity Fair's publisher, nor Nuzzi immediately responded to requests for comment about her job status. The magazine's leadership appears to have been blindsided by Lizza's revelations, which come less than a year after Nuzzi joined their team.
History Repeating Itself
This isn't the first time Nuzzi's professional boundaries have been questioned. In September of last year, New York Magazine placed her on leave after she acknowledged having a personal relationship with a "former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign." By October, the magazine had parted ways with the reporter.
Vanity Fair's decision to hire Nuzzi about a year after her departure from New York Magazine now appears particularly controversial. Staff members at the publication were described as "shocked" by Lizza's bombshell essay, with one calling it a "crazy week" and another noting that "Leadership seems stressed."
According to Status and NewsNation reports, Vanity Fair staff were in an "uproar" over the incident. One insider questioned Nuzzi's ability to cover powerful political figures moving forward, specifically mentioning California Governor Gavin Newsom and asking: "With her past predilections for presidential nominees coming to light — how will she be able to cover people like Gavin Newsom appropriately? Or other powerful older men for that matter?"
The situation places Vanity Fair in a difficult position as it balances supporting its new editor while maintaining journalistic integrity and addressing staff concerns about ethical standards in political coverage.
