Olivia Nuzzi Accuses Ryan Lizza Of Blackmail Amid RFK Jr. Relationship: Report

New York Magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi, who recently came under fire after admitting to a “personal relationship” with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has filed a lawsuit against her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, the well-known Politico journalist, accusing him of orchestrating a blackmail campaign against her, CNN reported Tuesday.

Nuzzi, who’s been on leave from the magazine since the revelations about her relationship with Kennedy surfaced, filed her lawsuit in Washington, D.C., Superior Court this week. In the suit, she accuses Lizza of working to damage her personal reputation as far back as July.

Lizza, Nuzzi alleges, “explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation—a threat he has since carried out.”

Nuzzi claims in the lawsuit, obtained by CNN, that after she refused to get back together with him, Lizza attempted to get various media outlets to publish personal information about her that he’d gathered from personal electronic devices he stole from her and hacked.

She claims some of her personal details may have been “doctored” to appear more damaging and that her ex concealed his identity by pretending to be an anonymous campaign operative.

A hearing for the case is set for Oct. 15.

Nuzzi never named Kennedy in the lawsuit, but she alluded to the scandal when she accused Lizza of tipping off her employer about “the matter” ― an apparent reference to the bombshell relationship.

New York Magazine confirmed last month that it had put Nuzzi on leave after she admitted to a personal relationship with a “former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign.” Journalist Oliver Darcy reported in his newsletter Status that her relationship was with Kennedy, the former presidential candidate Nuzzi had written an extensive profile about last November.

Nuzzi said the relationship was never physical and only began after her Kennedy profile was published.

Kennedy, the anti-vaccine activist, has been married to actor Cheryl Hines since 2014. He suspended his independent bid for the presidency in August and endorsed Donald Trump.

Lizza did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment, but he denied Nuzzi’s claims to CNN.

“I am saddened that my ex-fiancée would resort to making a series of false accusations against me as a way to divert attention from her own personal and professional failings,” he said. “I emphatically deny these allegations and I will defend myself against them vigorously and successfully.”

Nuzzi did not return HuffPost’s requests for further comment on the lawsuit.