Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly minted U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, is caught in a whirlwind of controversy over alleged psychedelic use that mimics near-death experiences.
The New York Post reported that, according to a forthcoming memoir by former New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi, Kennedy, a long-standing anti-vaccine activist, admitted to smoking dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a powerful hallucinogen, while also entangled in a scandalous sexting affair with Nuzzi that cost her dearly.
Nuzzi, then 32, interviewed Kennedy, 71, during his presidential candidacy, and what started as professional quickly veered into personal territory.
A sexting relationship bloomed, with Nuzzi’s memoir “American Canto”—set for release on Dec. 2, 2025—claiming Kennedy professed love, called her “Livvy,” penned poems, and even mused about starting a family together.
While Nuzzi insists the connection stayed digital, as she put it, “The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict,” the fallout was very real.
When the affair hit the headlines in October 2023, Nuzzi’s world imploded—she lost her gig at New York Magazine and her engagement to Ryan Lizza ended abruptly.
Yet, like a phoenix, she rose to a new role as West Coast editor at Vanity Fair, while Kennedy’s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, 60, stood firmly by his side despite the public embarrassment.
Now, let’s pivot to the juicier allegation—psychedelics—and whether this is just tabloid fodder or a genuine policy contradiction.
Nuzzi’s book drops the bombshell that Kennedy, sober for decades, confessed to using DMT, a psychoactive component of ayahuasca, long used by Amazonian tribes for ritual and healing.
This isn’t just any drug—studies liken its intense visual and auditory hallucinations to near-death experiences, a far cry from the sober image Kennedy projects.
Here’s where it gets tricky: Kennedy has openly championed psychedelics for therapy, telling a House hearing, “These are people who badly need some kind of therapy, nothing else is working for them.”
Kennedy doubled down in Congress, promising to make psychedelic therapy accessible in clinical settings within a year, a goal echoed by FDA chief Marty Makary, who called evaluating such drugs a “top priority.”
But conservatives might raise an eyebrow—how does one reconcile personal experimentation with a public health role, especially when pushing controversial treatments over tried-and-true methods?
While Kennedy’s vision for mental health innovation isn’t inherently wrong, the optics of alleged DMT use could undermine trust in an administration already battling progressive overreach on health policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services was contacted for comment, but no response was forthcoming, leaving us to ponder if this is a storm in a teacup or a genuine crack in credibility.