The (Latest) Attempt to Take Down RFK, Jr.
Think Clinton/Lewinsky, but make it Substack
DISCLAIMER: I don’t, in general, do political or celebrity gossip. There are folks far more in-the-know than I am on all things salacious and scandalous, and I prefer to use my wit to skewer weightier matters of the moment. That said, the Influencer Industrial Complex turned into a seventeen-ring digital circus over the weekend, and I felt as if the whole drama bomb needed to be diffused—or at least, lightened up a little.
If you thought the current political-cultural landscape couldn’t get any more contentious, allow me to introduce you to the bizarre love/hate triangle—quadrangle?—pentagon?—hexagon?—involving Robert F. Kennedy Jr., political journalist Olivia Nuzzi, Substacker and supposed RFK Jr. fangirl Jessica Reed Kraus (known as House Inhabit), podcaster and comedian Emilie Hagen, conspiracy chaser Ian Carroll, and the always unapologetic Candace Owens. It’s got all the drama of Monicagate, but with fewer dry-cleaning bills and way more Instagram stories.
Buckle up, folks.
The Hot Mess Express first left the station in September of last year when New York Magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who had been tapped to write a profile on RFK Jr., apparently got a little too close to her subject. While their widely-covered relationship *for lack of a better term* was described by both parties as an “emotional, digital, but not physical” one, it was enough to get Nuzzi fired from her probably-cushy magazine gig and cast an ugly shadow over RFK.
Enter House Inhabit (known by fans as HIH), a former mommy blogger-turned-political-darling who made a name for herself by deep-diving into Hollywood scandals and online controversies. Prior to the Kennedy-Nuzzi story breaking, HIH had written several glowing pieces about Nuzzi, referring to her fellow reporter as “a newly injected inspirational force,” and boasting about the close friendship the two had formed. But as soon as the sexting shenanigans made headlines, HIH backpedaled like a congressperson caught on a hot mic. “My overall take is that I was a pawn,” HIH mused, before parading out a fleet of red flags that apparently she had willfully ignored.
About a week ago, HIH published a Substack attempting to defend her controversial acceptance into the presidential press pool by favorably comparing herself to Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Ian Carroll.
NBD, right? I mean, she’s certainly entitled to her opinion. Plus, they’re all far bigger names than HIH, so they probably were fully prepared to laugh and shrug it off.
But right around the same time, it was revealed that HIH had hired comedian, podcaster, and independent journalist Emilie Hagen to write a longer, uglier hit piece on Candace Owens. The why is unclear but after watching countless Instagram back-and-forths between the two, it smacks of professional jealousy on crack, if I’m being honest. Anyway, when Hagen submitted a rough draft to HIH, it was promptly passed along to none other than Olivia Nuzzi to edit—a development HIH put in writing she wanted kept on the sly. (And this was after the pawn thing, BTW.) When HIH informed Hagen that Nuzzi had read the piece and wasn’t happy with it (“She said it should be a clean shot,” HIH wrote to Hagen via text), Hagen told her boss, “Have Olivia [Nuzzi] write it, I’m over the story”. She didn’t just walk away from the article and her freelance job writing for HIH—she ran straight to Owens and confessed the entire hit-piece plan.
A furious Owens, who had previously maintained that she had no interest in getting into a pissing match with HIH, began detailing the spat in her Instagram stories and sharing screenshots of private, not-flattering conversations with HIH that Hagen had leaked to her. An epic feud between Owens and HIH ensued—it’s literally consuming TikTok, X, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit—with fans of each alternately defending their online idols and smashing unsubscribe buttons in furious parallel droves.
After blaming HIH’s attacks on her on “too many drinks and a midlife crisis,” Owens set about trying to figure out why a supposed Kennedy fan is working with his alleged mistress to target and take down conservative voices. It’s a legit question, TBH. Owens posted her findings to YouTube in a clip called One Nation Under Blackmail, in which she suggests—among other things—that RFK is being controlled by Israel.
Enter Ian Carroll, the Great Internet Pot-Stirrer, who shared his own recap of the cat fight on X on Friday under the auspices of “keeping everybody safe,” promising the story was “way bigger than some girl drama” and would “change American politics forever.” In the video, which currently has 11.4 million views, Carroll connects Nuzzi to deep state players Hillary Clinton, Anthony Weiner, and Huma Abedin and, like Owens, dramatically alludes to the fact that the [still alleged, hypothetical] blackmail is likely way bigger than some dirty DMs.
[Try to stay with me; I know, it’s a lot.]
Because the whole thing wasn’t muddled enough, Alex Jones and Laura Loomer jumped into the fray. Jones basically called everything but the already-known digital infidelity nothing but a bunch of rumors (at this point, he’s not wrong) and highlighted all the good RFK Jr. has already done and plans to do (again, accurate). He added that Kennedy has always been openly pro-Israel and that if they’ve somehow compromised him, they must have done it decades ago. Finally, he pointed out that “the bad guys have always hated his guts,” which is also not untrue.
Loomer is singing her favorite tune, I Told Ya So but You Ignored Me, publicly accusing HIH of secretly collecting info on Kennedy and his family (charges HIH emphatically denies).
The rest of the X-scape seems to be falling into a few familiar factions:
Don’t care.
Nuzzi is nuts and the whole thing is sus.
Of course they’re controlling him hahahaha did you really not know that’s how this works?
Some notes from the DON’T CARE camp:
And from Team NUZZI IS NUTS AND THE WHOLE THING IS SUS:
And finally, from OF COURSE THEY’RE CONTROLLING HIM:
Each side makes some solid points, and as always, I can’t and wouldn’t completely discount any of them until more info is available. Just last night, HIH published an… explanation of sorts. It was less of an apology and more of a self-pitying spanking (“I thought we’d moved past canceling women we don’t like—but maybe I was wrong. Women love watching women at war with each other.”), something I’m reluctant to even write because I’m actually a woman who loves championing other women. But that’s what it looks and feels like. And a thorough scan of the comments on the piece tells me that lots of (former) HIH readers agree.
HIH did make a few poignant points in yesterday’s post (“I can’t help thinking of all the men in the media who get away with worse and never make headlines,” for one). She also pointed out, as I have several times, that the people reporting that Kennedy is being extra-super blackmailed have all admitted that they have not personally seen the blackmail.
So who are the actual bad guys in this movie? The ones spinning the rumor mill, the ones professing to expose the ones spinning the rumor mill, or the ones one being chewed up by its blades? While it’s natural and understandable to have an opinion at this point, the truth is we literally don’t know.
For now, I’ll just say I’ll be sad and disappointed if the raging-affair rumors turn out to be true, although if Bill Clinton can bounce back from receiving hands-free favors in the Oval Office while serving as POTUS, I suspect Kennedy could recover (and you can put me in camp Don’t Care if his biggest sin is getting sucked into a honeypot operation and he makes good on his MAHA promises). I hope and pray RFK, Jr. isn’t compromised or controlled by the deep state, because I do believe his heart is and always has been in the right place (and who can say what any other person might do if someone threatened to hurt his family unless he did their bidding?). Given what we know right now, at this point the whole thing feels like one colossal, coordinated effort to annihilate a guy who’s trying to get the crap out of our food and clean up public health.
Let me know what you think in the comments! (Vee, I already know—but feel free to elaborate. ;)
I've watched this man for 20 years take all kinds of incoming and be very open about his previous sexual misdeeds. He is also open about his commitment to doing what is right and his faith in God since he was delivered from his heroin addiction. He still attends 12 step meetings. His humble attitude doesn't square with the horn dog swagger of a man on the hunt. He's no Bill Clinton. He clearly adores Cheryl Hines and I find it very difficult to believe he would risk the relationship. His life's work has already led to a lot of attacks on HER and she is clearly not a fan of politics and what it costs her (and them). I am in the camp of this is BS until it is proven beyond doubt. Del Bigtree has a great rant at the end of last week's Highwire show in which he calls out all the Debbie Downers and negativity already from people who are supposedly on his side. What a fickle bunch we are. Turning on RFK is exactly what the bad guys want, and I ain't doing it.
I stayed away from the social media rabbit hole this weekend except for a few minutes to get the temperature on what's happening with MAHA and RFK Jr. and had seen there was trouble brewing around RFK Jr (what a surprise - it's only been happening to him regularly for the last few years). I am glad you laid it out here, Jenna, as I don't plan to read much more about it. Of course, I care if he has integrity and he appears to to me to be living from a high level of integrity although he, of course, isn't perfect. And I feel for both Cheryl and Bobby that they have to keep treading these kinds of public waters. Bobby knew what he was getting into when he started his campaign, and if anything, I think he wishes he had a cleaner past so it wouldn't in any way jeopardize the MAHA movement that he cares so deeply about. Because of his journey through and out of that past, he became the man who is willing to take on the Deep State -- with grace, I might add -- for all of us, but particularly, for those Moms who came to him and made him aware of how autism affects families and all the Moms who want healthy children. He has my full support until proven otherwise for doing what he said he will do for our country. The Deep State loves nothing better than to pit us against each other so they can control us..... I personally use my relationship with the divine to put my attention on the higher goal. Freedom is important to me.