Olivia Nuzzi’s Memoir, Seemingly Inspired by RFK Jr. Romance, Slammed by Critics as ‘Aggressively Awful’

Olivia Nuzzi’s new book may not be doing much to rebuild her public image, if early reviews are any indication.

The 32-year-old journalist — who spent months making headlines ahead of the December 2 release of her memoir, American Canto — is facing a wave of harsh criticism from major outlets.

Nuzzi, formerly of New York Magazine, parted ways with the publication in October 2024 after news surfaced of an alleged “sexting affair” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now the 71-year-old Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Many readers picked up the memoir expecting clarity on her alleged involvement with the former presidential candidate, and possibly former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, per allegations made by her ex-fiance Ryan Lizza. But critics say they won’t find much of it.

“American Canto does not tell all. Readers looking for a clearer understanding of her involvement with Kennedy will be disappointed. It is not a book about [Donald] Trump, nor is it about politics, as Nuzzi establishes in the author’s note,” Molly Fischer wrote for The New Yorker, per Page Six.

“It refuses chronology and coherence, which makes it a challenge to extract answers to any of the many questions a reader loosely aware of her story might have,” Fischer added.

Slate’s Schaachi Koul was similarly unimpressed, titling her review, Olivia Nuzzi’s Book Has the Audacity to be Boring. “American Canto could have helped redeem [Nuzzi] if only it were interesting,”  Koul wrote, also criticizing Nuzzi for being “fixated” on her blonde hair throughout.

“She talks about her own looks at length, remarking on which public figures admired her features, while also saying she defied the odds to make it in journalism. Those odds remain unclear throughout the book, especially considering she’s a conventionally attractive white woman (she keeps reminding us!) who went to a good school and became a nationally successful political journalist with name recognition in and out of Washington by her mid-20s,” Koul continued.

The New York Times’ review by Alexandra Jacobs called the memoir “altogether disappointing,” describing it as “chapterless” and “scattershot.” The critique also notes that Nuzzi offers plenty of scenes — “a flag factory staffed by immigrants, an open highway, the Oval Office” —  but readers are left with “little sense.”

The Washington Post labeled the book “highly uneven and largely forgettable.” “To be sure, vast swaths of it are impressively and aggressively awful,” reviewer Becca Rothfield wrote, per Page Six.

Some reviews also questioned the book’s honesty.

“It is not honest. In the book, Nuzzi rails against those who urge her to tell all. ‘I do not wish to be understood,’ she writes, ‘which no one seems to understand.’ This is a very good reason not to write and publish a memoir,” Helen Lewis wrote for The Atlantic, per Page Six.

Nuzzi, now West Coast editor at Vanity Fair, appeared to respond to the criticism as the reviews rolled in. On release day, she shared a link to purchase the book on Instagram, writing, “If you’re going to talk about it, you should read it.”

She later acknowledged that the rollout has “gone awry,” sharing that Monica Lewinsky reached out to her regarding her mental health.