Vanity Fair’s glossy Hollywood issue will feature an abstract nude portrait of scandal-plagued editor Olivia Nuzzi — even as staffers privately gripe that she has failed to carry out core duties since joining the magazine, according to a report.
The portrait, drawn by artist Isabelle Brourman, will appear in the new print edition that is scheduled to hit newsstands on Dec. 2. No image of the drawing appears to have been circulated publicly, and it’s unclear if renderings of the drawing have been produced or circulated among Vanity Fair staffers.
The Status newsletter cited “multiple people familiar” with the matter as saying that the abstract nude portrait will appear in the Dec. 2 print issue — but did not offer any additional details.
The Post has sought comment from Vanity Fair.
The sketch was commissioned months before the latest wave of allegations engulfed the 32-year-old writer, according to Status.
Brourman previously collaborated with Nuzzi during her tenure at New York Magazine, which ended weeks after it was learned that she had a “sexting” relationship with then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The inclusion of the abstract sketch in Vanity Fair’s marquee issue has fueled internal backlash at a moment when the publication is already struggling to contain the fallout of her most recent controversies.
Inside Vanity Fair, the controversy has collided with mounting frustration over Nuzzi’s limited output. Staffers told Status she has skipped routine meetings and failed to turn in assigned work.
Two people told the newsletter that one of her other editing assignments for the most recent issue of the magazine was not completed, leaving colleagues scrambling as the publication closed one of its most scrutinized annual issues.
The turbulence has placed newly appointed editorial director Mark Guiducci under immediate pressure.
Guiducci, who took over in June, has addressed staff at least twice since the allegations resurfaced, according to the Status report.
At a team meeting Thursday, he explained how he first met Nuzzi and tried to calm anxieties inside the newsroom, the newsletter reported.
He also downplayed the allegations, calling them “difficult to investigate because they occurred while she was employed elsewhere,” according to Status.
Guiducci distributed his personal cellphone number to employees and urged them to reach out with concerns.
But some staffers remain skeptical that Nuzzi can continue in an editing role when she has produced little work while generating heavy turbulence, according to Status.
Nuzzi, who is under contract and not a full-time Condé Nast employee, is not required to come into the office or participate in regular processes mandated by human resources.
Several employees said that distinction has deepened internal tension, particularly as colleagues navigate the reputational blowback tied to her arrival.
A spokesperson for Nuzzi declined to comment.
A Vanity Fair spokesperson said last week that the publication is now reassessing its decision to hire Nuzzi amid escalating claims from her ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, who says she also slept with former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford during the 2020 presidential campaign.
“We were taken by surprise … and we are looking at all the facts,” the spokesperson told Status.
Lizza made the allegations in a two-part newsletter release last week following Vanity Fair’s publication of a promotional excerpt from Nuzzi’s memoir “American Canto,” which recounts her earlier sexting relationship with Kennedy.
Lizza, the former Politico writer who split from Nuzzi after the RFK Jr. revelations surfaced, vowed to publish additional installments.
The slow drip of accusations has dominated media circles for nearly two weeks, leaving Vanity Fair scrambling for footing.
Those familiar with the situation say Guiducci has sought quiet guidance from Condé Nast’s chief content officer, Anna Wintour, who often provides strategic advice to top editors.
It is unclear how Wintour or Condé CEO Roger Lynch view the matter, though industry watchers say the pair are unlikely to tolerate sustained damage to the company’s prestige, according to Status.
The Post has sought comment from Condé.
