Former Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly grabbed New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi's hand during an interview last year prior to their alleged sexting exchange, according to another journalist who called Kennedy's actions "creepy," via Vanity Fair.

The incident reportedly took place when Kennedy, 70, and Nuzzi, 31, were on a hike as she interviewed him for a November 2023 profile, multiple sources recounted. The journalist later confided in a colleague, who claimed to have had a similar "creepy" encounter with Kennedy.

On Monday (September 23), the New York Post reported that Kennedy was investigating a potential lawsuit against Nuzzi, who allegedly “bombarded him with increasingly pornographic photos and videos” and tricked him to unblock her numbers, according to political blogger Jessica Reed Kraus, who knows both parties. Kennedy reportedly hired security expert Gavin de Becker to probe the situation as he's pursuing civil -- and possible criminal -- litigation against Nuzzi, who last week claimed the two were sexting prior to her being placed on leave by her employer.

“This had nothing to do with romance,” de Becker said. “He was being chased by porn.”

Kraus claims that Nuzzi allegedly tricked Kennedy, who is married to actress Cheryl Hines, into receiving her racy messages after he had previously blocked her following a flirtatious remark she made just two weeks after the profile she wrote on him was published in November 2023.

“A few weeks later, Nuzzi emailed him, asking to be unblocked, claiming she had urgent information about a hit piece being prepared against him,” Kraus wrote on her 'House in Habit' Substack.

“He unblocked her for that conversation, but later that night, she sent him a provocative picture, prompting him to block her again,” she claimed.

Kraus claimed Kennedy kept Nuzzi's number blocked for eight months, aside from several instances in which she'd reach out from various emails and numbers "insisting" they communicate over "urgent discussions about an imminent hit piece."

“Once unblocked, she bombarded him with increasingly pornographic photos and videos that he found difficult to resist. After brief exchanges, he would block her again,” Kraus wrote.

Other friends told Kraus that they believed Nuzzi to have allegedly "set him up" when discussing her claims that she and Kennedy had a recent sexting relationship. Kraus said she "unexpectedly" formed a friendship with Nuzzi late last year over their mutual coverage of Kennedy, but became suspicious when Nuzzi began asking personal questions about him. A source close to the Kennedy camp told the New York Post that Nuzzi became "obsessed" with the former presidential candidate after conducting an interview at his home for the November 2023 feature and was repeatedly blocked after attempting to text him.

“She went after him aggressively,” the source said. “She targeted him pretty hard. Bobby was blocking her continually. It was a little scary. She was obsessed with him. I think she still is.”

Nuzzi's representatives denied the allegations that she was the aggressor.

“It’s absolutely untrue that she was the aggressor, but both parties were aware of how high pressure and high risk the circumstances were and for that reason their communication was very on and off,” a source told the New York Post.

Nuzzi, who was named to Forbes' 2018 '30 under 30' list and a finalist for the 2023 National Magazine Award for feature writing, was engaged to Politico chief Washington correspondent Ryan Lizza, 50, in 2022.

Michael Brown