There are so many unanswered questions with this Olivia Nuzzi debacle. Some questions have been answered by Nuzzi’s ex-fiance Ryan Lizza, in his Substack series which has (imo) effectively destroyed Nuzzi’s status as a journalist and sane person. It’s through Lizza’s narrative that we learned what Nuzzi did for Robert Kennedy Jr after she decided she was in love with him. We also learned that she crossed dozens of ethical boundaries with Kennedy and on his behalf, not to mention her 2020 affair with Mark Sanford. But I still have questions: why did Vanity Fair even bother to hire her this year? Why didn’t New York Magazine have the balls to undertake a real investigation into her gross misconduct? And most importantly, what kind of advance did Nuzzi get for American Canto? Whatever Simon and Schuster gave her, they’re never making that money back. American Canto (which she wrote on her phone, remember) only sold 1,165 copies in its first week.
Journalist Olivia Nuzzi’s new book “American Canto” sold only 1,165 hardcover copies in its first week on the shelves, according to new data compiled by tracker NPDBookScan. The book was savaged in reviews, with the New York Times calling it “self-serious and altogether disappointing” and the Washington Post writing that she “tries and fails to save her reputation in the book.”
“I think there’s a broad understanding her credibility has been shredded and the idea of her as a reliable narrator in telling any story, even hers, not many readers are going to believe that,” said a publishing industry insider granted anonymity to speak candidly. The person called it a “publishing debacle of epic proportions” and said that given Nuzzi’s earlier reputation — she was a star magazine writer who was given glowing treatment in a Times profile last month — the sales expectation would be at least 5,000 hardcover copies in its first week. BookScan data captures around 70 percent of hardcover sales and does not track e-book and audio uploads.
Since Nuzzi started promoting the book, her former fiancé, journalist Ryan Lizza, has published a series of Substack posts describing her relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and alleged ethical breaches. Lizza, a former POLITICO staffer, issued his fifth installment on Wednesday night. Nuzzi has called Lizza’s writings “harmful revenge p0rn”; he says she can’t handle the truth and so is blaming him for her failings.
“Heads should roll over the disaster, whether it’s crisis PR consultants involved or editors,” the publishing industry insider added. “It’s a disaster from start to finish.”
A person close to Nuzzi said the book “had a respectable first week” for a new author “despite an unprecedented and vengeful harassment campaign aimed solely at ruining the book’s release.”
I haven’t even really analyzed Nuzzi’s hysterical tantrums about Lizza’s Substack – “an unprecedented and vengeful harassment campaign…” O RLY? Because Lizza’s Part 5 dropped on Wednesday night, and he details Nuzzi’s unprecedented and vengeful smear campaign aimed at HIM as she melodramatically tried to save her reputation AND still continue her affair with Robert Kennedy Jr. Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a healthy dash of vengeance in Lizza’s Substack, but I believe it’s more than warranted. I also believe Lizza is doing a public service by ensuring that Nuzzi is forever blacklisted from journalism.
I’m including a link to Lizza’s latest Substack below. He picks up after he spoke to Robert Kennedy Jr. and broke off his engagement to Nuzzi. He tries to give Nuzzi advice to salvage her career but she doesn’t take it, and so many people know about Nuzzi’s affair with Kennedy that various journalists are starting to pick up on the story. Kennedy got looped back into the toxic drama and he had Gavin De Becker threaten Lizza. Lizza also described Nuzzi’s increasingly erratic and manic behavior, some of which her friends claimed was Adderall-induced. And finally, Lizza says flat-out that Nuzzi and Kennedy schemed to file a false FBI report about him.
Part 5: Loyalty Test
Kara Swisher was blunt: now that she knew about Olivia Nuzzi’s affair with Bobby Kennedy, she had an obligation to tell David Haskell, the editor of New York magazine.I asked Kara to hold off for a few days while I tried to convince Olivia to disclose the…
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) December 11, 2025
Screencaps courtesy of The Bulwark, photos courtesy of Lizza’s IG.
Well color me shocked. Did the publishers really think anyone would want to hear about this? RFK jr is gross, he’s known for his shitty behaviour towards wives/girlfriends/mistresses. Literally no one cares
Part of me feels guilty for how much I am enjoying this dumpster fire, but after choking down that Tim Miller interview last week, all I can say is that Simon & Schuster should have known what they were getting and it is 100 percent gratifying to see her sales numbers. I learned a lot when I sold a book (no advance, 1,500 print run). Bookscan stats are a major factor in whether an author gets another deal. Lizza is a dirtbag, but at least he can write. She’s an opportunist rapidly running out of opportunities.
Well deserved imo.
I stand back and ask myself one question… are there any sane people in this situation? Respectfully, Mr. Lizza knew all of the tea about Nuzzi and he did not walk away. He in fact left his wife and children for her. I haven’t read every single word of his, but he really comes across as a guy who was willing to weather all of these storms with Nuzzi of she had just chosen him in the end. So, I think he’s equally insane as Nuzzi but in a different body. Also, he’s not wielding the holy sword of justice here, it’s interesting but I don’t know what to think of his credibility honestly.
Heylee, the answer is no. LOL. They all appear to be characters you see in soap operas or telenovellas, not real life. But I, too, am enjoying the dumpster fire. It’s a good distraction from the dumpster fire of the current administration.
And while Nuzzi is a much better writer than his ex, I don’t think his character is much better. He only comes across as reasonable in comparison to her and Bobby.
I’m glad Nuzzi is finally reaping a consequence for her hijinks instead of a reward. I’ve never cared for Lizza but honestly, I think him publishing what he knows is fair game, especially considering the threats he’s gotten from her camp. Yes he is profiting from it, and getting revenge from it, but also informing the public about something important, and also protecting himself by getting this out in the public and getting his side of the story out. She really should have known that if you mess with the bull, you get the horns. Also, it’s not revenge porn, the only graphically sexual thing he mentioned was that stupid ass poem RFK Jr wrote and it’s not titillating so much as extremely embarrassing and hilarious and shows what an absolute chud RFK is. I think Nuzzi is an idiot and massively unethical, but to me the worst villains in the story are RFK Jr, Vanity Fair, and Simon and Schuster.
Nobody wants to read about how this person was trying to be the Nancy Reagan of MAGA…and I’m not talking about aspirations of being FLOTUS.
This lady will be on a reality tv ensemble or Dancing With the Stars in the near future.
Hmmm, you really think she can pull off such an coveted D list career move? I’d be surprised if Vivid or some other ghastly adult film entertainment company doesn’t sign her on for Whorehouse of the Dragon, the title shot of her, she looks just like the actor who plays Aemond Targaryen.
Nasty Nuzzi, may she never recover from this. She knew that RFK jr was lying about being anti-vaccine, that he just wanted power & wrote a disparaging piece about Joe Biden to help him get the presidency. I hope she loses everything. What a trash human.
For a trashy book about a Kennedy to fail this spectacularly … that’s an accomplishment of its own!