RFK JR. (Set up)
The Talented Ms. Nuzzi: Exclusive Insight into the Sexting Scandal Between RFK Jr. and Olivia Nuzzi
SEP 21, 2024
JESSICA REED CROSS.1/4
“She had been strategically weaving herself into his world for months, using our friendship — a phony connection, fueled by self-invested interests —to infiltrate RFK’s campaign and feed information to his enemies while vicariously tracking his every move.”
With just over 40 days until the election, I certainly didn’t imagine myself sitting in a hotel on Wall Street, in the midst of moving my oldest son into his first apartment, drafting a response about a friend entangled in a political scandal involving a former presidential candidate.
As you know, my coverage of RFK Jr. has been largely positive, offering a nuanced portrayal of a complex man whom mainstream media delights in tearing apart. Outside of independent media, it’s been hit piece after hit piece for the past 12 months. For many of his supporters, my campaign coverage has provided a rare source of balanced insight — presenting an authentic interpretation of Kennedy and his messaging amid a storm of recycled, slanderous articles. Often, my writing has served as the sole counter to a barrage of media attacks designed to malign and derail Kennedy’s success on the campaign trail.
We’ve weathered our share of scandals: from Anne Frank comparisons to “brain worms,” discarded bear bodies to severed whale heads. Now, the latest claims involve sexting with a political journalist for whom he was a profile subject. Unfortunately, I have a personal stake in this drama, as I’m close to both parties — dragged into this mess, in part, due to my own faulty judgment. My instincts rarely let me down, but this time, I regret to say, they failed me profoundly.
Regarding the current “situation,” I hope you consider how difficult it is to publicly address a scandal involving a friend.
It all began a few months ago, in November 2023, when I unexpectedly formed a friendship with Olivia Nuzzi, the Washington correspondent for New York Magazine. Our bond caught the attention of my audience, who were mostly amused by the unlikely kinship between mainstream and independent media. She was the queen of legacy print; I represented typical mothers across America on the campaign trail. However, among friends within the D.C. circuit, reactions were more cautious.
“Nothing with Olivia is off the record,” they warned me. “She has a history of burning sources close to her.” General advice was not to trust her; I was told to tread lightly. Multiple insiders echoed this sentiment, hinting at her questionable ethics and erratic behavior. Yet, because she was so kind and engaging, I thought nothing of it. I let my guard down, believing that respect on her end was mutual.
I wasn’t familiar with Olivia Nuzzi, but soon after I posted one of my first stories on Kennedy, Olivia wrote her own version based on the same setup: a dilapidated van taking us to a long, winding uphill hike.Her portrayal was strikingly different. The image paired with her article depicted Robert Kennedy at the wheel, looking paranoid and tearful, with the van resembling “a death machine” where even his dogs as passengers appeared terrified.
Our pieces landed back-to-back, showcasing conflicting perspectives of the same man in the same scene. Mine painted Kennedy in a flattering light; hers was far less forgiving. When she shared her article on X, RFK supporters and my followers flooded the comments, decrying what they perceived as a hit piece. Amid this heated exchange, we ended up laughing about the feud, following each other and meeting in person for the first time a few weeks later at a yoga event hosted by Marianne Williamson in LA.
She asked what I was up to next. When I mentioned that I was heading to an RFK event in Ojai, her eyes lit up.
Like many impactful and dynamic figures in media, Olivia Nuzzi evokes a wide range of opinions. Some describe her as sharp, witty, and beguiling — a shrewd journalist adept at navigating the labyrinth of political power dynamics, with an uncanny ability to extract compelling narratives from controversial figures.
However, she is not as well-received by, say, those who read me or other alternative sources on Substack.Others labeled her as “fame-seeking,” someone who thrives on self-induced scandal and controversy, both professionally and personally. I chose to form my own judgment based on personal experience, as I do with anyone I meet with a debatable reputation.
(https://jessicareedkraus.substack.com/p/the-talented-ms-