Olivia Nuzzi spotted with Vice founder Shane Smith amid comeback rumors: report
Olivia Nuzzi appears to be quietly plotting a return to the media spotlight months after her spectacular fall from grace over an undisclosed relationship with Robert F.Kennedy Jr.The former New York Magazine star has resurfaced in Los Angeles, where she has been networking and spending time with Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith as he explores reviving Vice News, according to Status.Nuzzi and the Vice co-founder have been spotted together in public several times in recent months, Status reported.
Smith recently returned to Vice to try to turn around the outlet following its 2023 bankruptcy.A person familiar with the conversations told Status the pair have discussed a possible role for Nuzzi at Vice — a former media upstart with a rep for taking risks — though the specifics remain unclear.Status also reported that Nuzzi has become a regular presence at the exclusive San Vicente Bungalows private club, where she has been taking meetings with various media and entertainment figures as she explores her next move.The members-only venue has become one of LA’s most influential gathering spots for executives, celebrities and power brokers, despite its strict no-photos policy.A Vice spokesperson denied the discussions involved a professional role, telling Status: “There is nothing related here to Vice News.”Neither Smith nor Nuzzi responded to requests for comment.The comeback effort follows a bruising stretch that saw Nuzzi lose her coveted job at New York Magazine only to then become embroiled in an ugly public and legal battle with her former fiancé Ryan Lizza.Nuzzi’s downfall began in September 2024, when New York Magazine revealed that she had admitted to editors that she engaged in an undisclosed personal relationship with a former campaign-related reporting subject while covering the presidential race.The magazine said the relationship violated its conflict-of-interest and disclosure policies, placed Nuzzi on leave and commissioned an outside review of h...