How did Olivia Nuzzi become the worst scandal of the week?

Cheryl Hines introduces husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a stage.

Sept. 24, 2024 6 AM PT

Hello, and happy Tuesday. There are 41 days until the election, and today we are talking scandals.

I have become aware that various competitors may be sniffing around a story about yours truly — an unhealthy indiscretion that I now see has brought me nothing but too-tight jeans and belated shame. I am having an affair with not one, but two gentlemen: Ben and Jerry.

I am not proud of this, but there it is. There may even be photos of me indulging, spoon-deep in a pint or two. But in my defense, Ben and Jerry have helped me (together, I don’t think they really do anything alone) through more than one difficult story. They are sources of satisfaction, epiphanies and now, I am sorry to say, public humiliation — because I know journalists aren’t supposed to be involved with sources, but how could I say no?

New York Super Fudge Chunk is to me, apparently, what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is to New York magazine’s now-suspended writer Olivia Nuzzi.

If you are not a self-obsessed East Coast political journalist, it is possible you have missed their 3,000 stories about Nuzzi, 31, allegedly sexting with Señor Worm-brain, 70, after writing a profile of him last year.

This is a big no-no in journalism, in case you couldn’t guess that. Generally, editors frown upon any sexy-sexy with sources because it makes all reporters look like, well British journalists, as Semafor editor Ben Smith wrote, somehow, I think, defending sex with sources?

I’ll leave you to read the salacious details of Nuzzi’s “demure nudes” yourself, but the short version is that Nuzzi has been pilloried for her lack of ethics. Fair.

But RFK Jr. — who is still a presidential contender on multiple state ballots — is getting a pass.

He hasn’t commented, but has let his “team” put out a spin circus claiming he’s the victim here, that Nuzzi pursued him even after he blocked her.

In the press frenzy to condemn Nuzzi — and again, she is accountable for her ethical lapses — the media is knee-deep in some serious double standards. I have yet to see a single reporter ask Kennedy if he sent photos to Nuzzi. Or question his integrity or judgment, after multiple affairs and even harassment of women. Or ask why he’s sexting with a woman younger than some of his own children.

RFK Jr. is a public figure. Even if he doesn’t win (obviously he won’t), he has seemingly traded his potential-spoiler ability for a place on Trump’s team. This guy could determine the future of the American healthcare system if Trump wins. He asked the Supreme Court on Monday for an emergency injunction to put himself back on the ballot in New York, so he’s still very much in the mix.

Why isn’t he being scrutinized for this latest scandal with the same intensity as Nuzzi, who honestly, average Americans have no interest in?

Just asking for America’s 170 million women, most of whom know it takes two to tango, even virtually.

But on to other scandals!

The ‘Black Nazi’ scandal

Mark Robinson, the conservative Republican running for governor of North Carolina, should probably be sending Nuzzi champagne (Not pictures! No pictures!). Because, unbelievably, her scandal seems to have knocked the wind out of his.

Last week, CNN published a shocking — and I use that word as someone not easily shocked — investigation of Robinson and his writings on a pornography website called “Nude Africa.”

CNN reported that Robinson referred to himself as a “Black NAZI!” on the site, in posts made more than a decade ago, along with using slurs against multiple groups including Jews, Muslims and Black people. He reportedly called Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” a “good read” and suggested bringing back slavery would be a good thing. I don’t know, folks, it’s a lot — I’m not even touching the sex stuff.

But voters seem to have given it all a big shrug. Sure, Trump is keeping his distance for now (and Robinson is denying any of the comments or posts are his and adds they are all false or AI generated) but also, JD Vance seems entirely unbothered.

He had this to say during a North Carolina rally Monday, where Robinson was nowhere in sight but questions by reporters about him turned the crowd downright hostile:

“I’ve been asked, I think, five questions now. Three of those questions have been about what Mark Robinson did or did not say 20 years ago on a message board. As I’ve said, that is Mark Robinson’s case to make to the people of North Carolina. I’m not going to make it for him and the people in North Carolina, they get to be the judges of whether they believe them or not. It’s really that simple.”

So, a big dodge by the Trump team on a sex scandal. Little surprise there.

Melania’s side hustles

Which brings us to Melania Trump, whose scandal is mild in comparison. Reports came out this week that she may have charged hundreds of thousands ($247,500 to be precise) for a speaking appearance with the Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative group that supports LGBTQ rights, in April. That’s not illegal, just maybe unsavory — it’s unclear who cut the check. It wasn’t the Log Cabin folks, they say.

But here’s the thing: I’m on Melania’s side on this one. You go girl, make your money while you can. The former first lady has never made a secret of wanting to cash in on her White House celebrity — and if Plan A is the Donald, can you blame her for having a Plan B?

So if you feel like buying her new $600 “Vote Freedom” necklace, or the $250 Collector’s Edition of her new book, or even her $90 Christmas ornament, then go for it.

A woman’s got to make a living, and it’s hardly the biggest scandal of the week.