Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann reportedly responded Monday to a viral article that described his alleged past “sugar daddy” relationship with journalist Olivia Nuzzi — an explosive account he conspicuously avoided addressing as he instead trained his attention on a separate allegation involving former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
The article, written by journalist Ryan Lizza, detailed his own breakup with Nuzzi and accused her of cheating on him with Sanford during the 2020 election.
Lizza’s account ricocheted across social media almost immediately. But the piece went further, outlining what he described as Nuzzi’s earlier, secret relationship with Olbermann, who is 34 years her senior.
“By this point, I was used to cleaning up Olivia’s messes,” Lizza wrote. He said Nuzzi had “messaged [Olbermann] out of the blue,” and that “soon after, she fled her unhappy home in suburban New Jersey and started living with Keith in Manhattan.”
According to Lizza, the former cable host took extensive steps to support Nuzzi financially. He claimed that Olbermann “paid for her to attend college, outfitted her in Tom Ford and Hervé Léger dresses and some $15,000 worth of Cartier jewelry.” Lizza also alleged that Olbermann covered Nuzzi’s rent “and furnished her apartment in a doorman building in the West Village.”
While painting a picture of generosity, Lizza asserted there were “strings attached,” adding that Nuzzi concealed the relationship from him and friends until she “told me everything—too much, actually.” He described how they “hatched a plan for her escape,” and said Nuzzi later “had felt stalked by Keith after she left him,” prompting a joint policy of “never engaging with him.”
Yet when Olbermann responded publicly, he sidestepped all the claims surrounding himself. Instead, he highlighted Lizza’s allegation that Nuzzi had carried on an inappropriate relationship with Sanford while reporting on him during the 2020 campaign — a detail with potentially significant implications given longstanding ethical concerns in political journalism.
“Ryan Lizza appears to be accusing Olivia Nuzzi of an affair with Mark Sanford when she was covering HIM in 2020?” Olbermann wrote, pairing the comment with a facepalm emoji. In a follow-up post, he added only: “This is me,” alongside a GIF of Neo from The Matrix dodging bullets.
Ryan Lizza appears to be accusing Olivia Nuzzi of an affair with Mark Sanford when she was covering HIM in 2020? 🤦🏼♂️https://t.co/QHDDpySaA4
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 18, 2025
His choice to focus on Sanford rather than the far more personal allegations — including claims that he funded Nuzzi’s lifestyle, education, housing, and wardrobe — underscores how fraught the situation has become among a cohort of media figures with long-standing ties to Democratic politics and national reporting.
While Olbermann’s deflection may signal a refusal to relitigate the past, the allegations outlined by Lizza add fresh complications to the interwoven personal and professional relationships that have long hovered around several prominent media personalities. For now, the former host appears determined to ignore the accusations involving himself, even as he spotlights the political implications of Lizza’s claims about Sanford — and Nuzzi’s conduct while covering him.
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