It might be over before it even begins.
Olivia Nuzzi reportedly hasn’t even been able to pick up her Condé Nast laptop yet, amid rumors that she’ll be attending Vanity Fair. However, sources say no decision has yet been made on her fate.
One source told Page Six, “It looks like they’re going to fire her,” while another said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they fired Olivia.”
Another source snorted, “Even before this issue broke, she didn’t publish a single article in the next two issues of the magazine. She never picked up the Condé Nast computer, never came to meetings, never responded to CC’d emails.”
A source added, “The only part she ‘edited’ in the Hollywood issue was cut.”
(However, this issue features excerpts from her books.)
The former New York Magazine star, who quit the magazine after an affair scandal came to light, will publish a new book, American Canto, this week detailing her pranks with presidential candidates and the messy aftermath.
Nuzi, 32, became Vanity Fair’s West Coast editor in September.
Now, Nuzzi appears to have lost his chance to revive his magazine career at Condé Nast.
At the same time that her book is about to be published, Nuzzi’s ex-fiancé and fellow political reporter Ryan Lizza is also publishing his own series of scorched-earth essays filled with outlandish accusations via Substack.
It has been heard that Mr Nuzzi’s alleged departure is unlikely to affect the magazine, which is headed by new editorial director Mark Guiducci, who is seeking to give the magazine more authority.
Another source said Nuzzi’s role “will always be a hollow title,” but this is no joke.
“She was never going to be an actual editor,” another source says. “At the Oscar party, it was all about her looking glam.”
Semaphore’s Max Tani reported that VF is likely to let Nuzzi’s new contract expire.
“Two Condé Nast insiders said the publishing company and Condé Nast executives were troubled by the entire allegations and were likely to terminate her temporary contract,” the report said.
We also hear that staff are “embarrassed” and want to remove Nuzzi from the masthead.
“Everyone wants her out, except maybe Mark (Guducci),” the source said. “Everyone is texting all the time saying how embarrassing this is.”
“It would be suicidal to keep her at this point,” the source said.
However, another source said Nuzzi’s position at the masthead has not changed and has not been finalized. “Everything is still unclear,” the source said. “They’re still considering everything.”
The New York Times reported that Mr. Nuzzi and Mr. Guiducci met late into the night at San Vicente’s luxury Bungalows and Sunset Tower last July to “discuss the magazine’s old charm and how to reinvent it for the digital age.”
It was only after Condé Nast executives approved her employment that “we learned that she was returning to the news industry with the publication of ‘American Cunt,'” the report added.
Rizza also claimed that Nuzzi had an affair with former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.
“In American Canto, Nuzzi describes the only instance in his long career as a journalist in which he had an inappropriate relationship with an interviewee,” Nuzzi’s attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, said in a statement.
A Vanity Fair representative said at the time: “We are surprised and are looking into all the facts.”
Nuzzi’s book will be released by Avid Press on December 2nd.
Vanity Fair and Nuzzi did not respond to requests for comment. Sources say Nuzzi likely earned “more than $200,000” from the gig.
