Olivia Nuzzi’s ex claims RFK Jr. wanted to get her pregnant

Olivia Nuzzi’s ex-fiance Ryan Lizza added fuel to their legal feud over the star New York Magazine reporter’s affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., filing a lawsuit Monday claiming that the politician wanted to “fertilize” and “control” it. .

In court papers filed Monday in Washington, D.C. Superior Court by Poltico’s Lizza in response to Nuzzi’s claim that he organized a blackmail campaign against her, more details were provided about the journalist’s personal relationship with RFK Jr. According to Lizza, Nuzzi confided to her in August that her relationship with the former independent presidential candidate was “toxic,” “unhealthy” and “psychotic” and that Kennedy wanted to “possess,” “control” and “her.” impregnate”. .

“She told me there was a huge power disparity between them and that he was manipulating her,” Lizza said in Monday’s filing.

Nuzzi claimed in a court filing earlier this month that Lizza stole and hacked his devices in August and began publicizing his digital affair with Kennedy, whom the Washington, D.C. correspondent had profiled, to his peers in 2023. He claimed those allegations were false in his own complaint this week.

“No device of Ms. Nuzzi was ever hacked to obtain this information,” Lizza said. “Almost everything I know about his affair comes directly from Ms. Nuzzi herself.”

According to Lizza, he learned of Nuzzi and Kennedy’s relationship on August 17 and asked her to move out shortly after. He said Nuzzi “later begged me to consider resuming the relationship, telling me that his affair ‘wasn’t real’ and that ‘I don’t want to give up’ our relationship.”

This flies in the face of part of Nuzzi’s complaint, which said her threats were intended to get them to get back together.

“Her allegation that I was trying to blackmail her back into our relationship is a shameful lie contradicted by the most basic facts,” Lizza said. “MS. Nuzzi’s recklessness is solely responsible for the public ridicule, humiliation and professional harm she says she suffered.”

Nuzzi’s attorney released a statement to the media in response to Lizza’s filing, calling the Politico reporter’s claims “salacious” and “irrelevant.”

“Files like this, full of salacious and irrelevant assertions that we will not respond to, reinforce his efforts, as described in his initial request for a protective order,” the statement said. “Her sole objective in requesting the intervention of law enforcement and the court is to ensure her safety and leave her alone.”

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news of Lizza’s complaint, with additional reporting from the Daily Beast and CNN, the latter of which first broke the news of Nuzzi’s complaint against her ex-fiancé on October 1.

Lizza and Nuzzi are on leave from Politico and New York Magazine, respectively, as their legal feud continues to unfold and internal investigations are conducted.