Glamorous Trash: A Celebrity Memoir Podcast

PART TWO: Olivia Nuzzi's Memoir "American Canto"

Host: Chelsea Devantez | Guest: Becca Platsky

Release Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

In this layered and riotously deconstructed episode, Chelsea Devantez and guest Becca Platsky (of the Corporate Gossip podcast) attempt to unpack Olivia Nuzzi’s highly controversial memoir American Canto. With biting wit and exasperation, they offer a “book club for the worst book ever read” and explore Nuzzi’s professional self-immolation, her tabloid-bait personal life, ethically murky journalism, and a style of memoir-writing that feels like being “slapped cartoonishly from left to right.” Listeners are encouraged to catch up on part one and brace for a discussion that careens through pop culture, journalistic grift, bird metaphors, the RFK Jr. affair, and a memoir that, in Becca’s words, “felt like I was reading someone write down a dream they had—while trapped on a cruise ship.”

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context and Setup for "American Canto"

• Listeners are warned repeatedly: "You must listen to part one to understand this insanity... it should feel like you're being slapped in the face, like a cartoon" (Chelsea, 05:23).
• The book is the output of Nuzzi’s failed co-written political tome with ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza—transformed into a "memoir" seemingly to fulfill a contractual obligation with Simon & Schuster.

2. The Book’s Disastrous Structure and Style

• Both hosts agree, "This was the worst book I've ever read in my life." (Becca, 04:12; Chelsea, 04:22)
• The book reads as a chaotic blend of half-remembered political moments, surreal celebrity encounters, and self-mythologizing tangents: “It’s like being slapped in the face, left then right, again and again.” (Chelsea, 05:23)

3. Olivia Nuzzi’s Career Arc & Motivations

• Vanity Fair hired (and then quietly fired) Nuzzi as their West Coast Editor post-memoir: “It was a vanity title, they say… [but] Olivia Nuzzi is the ultimate drama maker.” (Chelsea, 09:04)
• The timeline reveals her motivations—pivoting from journalism to entertainment after scandal: "Did you just want to be an actor and couldn’t? And this is what we’re forced to deal with so you can be in Hollywood now, which is… exactly what Donald Trump did." (Chelsea, 09:24)

4. Journalistic (and Memoiristic) Ethics Scandal

• The tangled origins of American Canto are dissected: a failed scoop-laden Trump election book, replaced out of desperation with memoir snippets and rushed to meet a million-dollar advance.
• Questions swirl about ethical breaches: “Ryan Lizza says the book had to be ethically put on hold” due to affairs with political subjects (Becca, 11:05).

5. Nuzzi’s Complicated, Sometimes Contradictory Persona

• Nuzzi's personal history: groomed by much older men in journalism, producing "power through seduction" (Chelsea, 29:10).
• The memoir’s opportunism: “She’s an opportunist… there are always opportunities to stomp on other women.” (Chelsea, 27:07)
• Yet, Chelsea repeatedly acknowledges sympathy for Nuzzi’s exploitation and gendered pressures.

6. RFK Jr. Affair and the Kennedy Celebrity Universe

• The RFK Jr. affair is the memoir’s central tabloid engine. Nuzzi styles the relationship with overwrought literary metaphors and odd detachment.
• Notable passage: “He was always showing me photographs of himself as a young man… at the sight of him, I was overcome with a terrible sadness. I could acknowledge that he was beautiful, but I did not want him. What I wanted was to mother him…” (Chelsea reading, 44:18)
• The saga blurs with Nuzzi’s family drama, repeated references to her father, and a fixation on “mothering” damaged men.

7. The Book’s Absurd Cultural Name-Dropping & Character Code-Naming

• Nuzzi bizarrely nicknames figures: “South African Tech Billionaire” (Elon Musk), “the politician” (RFK Jr.), and “the personality” (Charlie Kirk)—while only women are named directly and usually shamed.

8. Birds, Pop Stars, and Whiplash Metaphors

• The memoir lurches from RFK Jr.’s “parrot” energy to Nuzzi’s obsession with Marilyn Monroe, Holly Madison, and Britney Spears, all while denying it:
  • “It’s as if Olivia vaguely knows this is a writing technique, but doesn’t know how to execute it.” (Chelsea, 66:05)
• Recurrent bird and car imagery (her "iconic" white Mustang) are discussed as attempts at crafting a tortured literary persona.

9. Nuzzi’s Voice—Real or Performance?

• Nuzzi’s allegedly natural “sexy Marilyn Monroe baby whisper” is revealed as an affect (71:16), code-switching for men or bosses, much like Elizabeth Holmes.

10. Journalistic Disdain and the Memoir’s Self-Owns

• Nuzzi openly (and paradoxically) rails against journalism: “I do not care about news, and I am not competitive by nature. In truth, I consider news a burden.” (Chelsea quoting, 72:10)

11. Chaotic Anecdotes and Surreal Details

• Examples: Her brother physically lifting her away from a security camera—“Are you Olivia Nuzzi or a sexy baby?” (Chelsea, 60:35)
• Shopping on mushrooms for her infamous Correspondents’ Dinner look; style contradictions, and dress cost trivia ($1,600 for that outfit).

12. Endgame: The Memoir’s Breakdown and Aftermath

• The book closes with drones, hawk metaphors, and spiritual ambiguity: “A line, long and steady. And the line spells out the word of God. And the word says that you are not alone… whether as reassurance or a threat” (Chelsea reading, 90:31).
• Post-script: The episode records pre-Ryan Lizza’s “Part Five” Substack, but Chelsea updates—his narrative remains more coherent, but “capitalizing on the moment.”

Notable Quotes & Key Timestamps

04:12

"Chelsea, this was the worst book I've ever read in my life."
—Becca Platsky

05:23

"By transforming her book into a coherent story is also a disservice... it should feel like you’re being slapped in the face, like a cartoon."
—Chelsea Devantez

09:24

"Did you just want to be an actor and couldn’t? And this is what we’re forced to deal with… That’s Donald Trump."
—Chelsea

13:12

"Don’t lose sight of the facts that Olivia was really exploited and groomed from a very young age… Both currently profiting off talking about their predatory relationships with this young woman."
—Chelsea

27:07

"I don’t think she hates women. I think it goes back to, she’s an opportunist… She will take all of those opportunities."
—Chelsea

29:10

"She learned early… there’s one angle to power: exploiting my own body before they do it... I wish there was an end goal for it."
—Chelsea

44:18

On RFK Jr. showing her old photos
"At the sight of him I was overcome with a terrible sadness…What I wanted was to mother him…"
—Chelsea (reading from the memoir)

66:05

"It’s as if Olivia vaguely is aware that this is a writing concept, but doesn’t know how to execute it."
—Chelsea

72:10

"I do not care about news, and I am not competitive by nature. In truth, I consider news a burden…"
—Chelsea (reading Nuzzi)

85:20

"I always thought of him as a novel—hundreds of lies that amount to one big truth."
—RFK Jr., quoted by Nuzzi; Chelsea: "That took my breath away. That’s Trump."

Highlighted Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• 05:56 – Becca describes the post-book malaise and compares reading American Canto to reading “somebody write down a dream they had.”
• 23:09-24:13 – The “rapeable” quote at a DC party, attributed (allegedly) to Uma Thurman as relayed to Nuzzi.
• 30:16-30:45 – The power of gossip, as both subversive tool and dangerous pivot in Nuzzi's hands.
• 47:14 – Parallels between Nuzzi's family and RFK Jr.’s history; the peculiar Oedipal themes.
• 51:01 – Chelsea on Nuzzi’s defense of her ethically compromised reporting: “She’s both saying she knew he wouldn’t understand her advice—and also that the press wouldn’t understand that.”
• 56:13 – Nuzzi’s self-regard: “You are so amazing you can have an affair with the person you’re meant to be covering.” (Chelsea)
• 58:20 – “It’s written specifically for like 10 people. …I don’t give a truly.” (Becca)
• 84:09 – Nuzzi’s attempt to build an iconic visual persona around her white Mustang and “blonde windswept” image.

The Book Til Test

(Final Segment: 90:57)

1. Was the author vulnerable in the sharing of her truth?
"No. A laughable notion." (Chelsea)

2. Was it entertaining to read?
"No. I felt things I haven't felt before while reading a book. Entertainment wouldn't be one of them." (Becca)

3. Did it elevate your life in any way?
"In the sense that it elevated me so far I went down the opposite way and found myself in hell." (Becca)
"Thoughts and prayers don’t work… this book didn’t elevate my life at all." (Chelsea)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [02:13] — Introduction & context; warning to listen to part one
• [04:01] — Opening reactions: "Worst book I've ever read"
• [06:56] — Dissection of the book’s origin story, logline, and structure
• [09:24] — Nuzzi's Vanity Fair firing; career trajectory
• [13:12] — The role of grooming, power imbalances, and gender
• [23:09] — The "rapeable" quote and DC party anecdote
• [27:07] — Opportunism, internalized misogyny, and career moves
• [31:58] — Notes on the 2024 election, RFK Jr., and supporting cast
• [37:28] — Clothing details, attire at major events, and their symbolic value
• [44:18] — The mothering of RFK Jr. and family psychodrama
• [66:05] — Pop culture tangent: Marilyn Monroe, Holly Madison, Britney Spears
• [72:10] — Nuzzi’s disregard for journalism’s competitive ethos
• [85:20] — The "hundreds of lies/one big truth" quote about Trump
• [90:31] — Bizarre, poetic outro; bird/drone metaphor finale
• [90:57] — The "Book Til Test" and final reviews (spoiler: all "no")

Conclusion & Final Thoughts

Chelsea and Becca deliver a brutal, comprehensive vivisection of American Canto, a book whose chaos, contradictions, and literary delusions are only matched by the tabloid drama it documents. Their analyses illuminate not only Nuzzi’s failings as a memoirist and journalist, but also the dark symbiosis of media, celebrity, and gendered ambition.

Becca’s summary: “I’d rather be tortured primitively.”
Chelsea’s summary: “It definitely put me in a dark place… there’s no hope for us.”

Additional Resources

• For bonus coverage, comments, and deep dives, visit the Glamorous Trash Patreon.
• Listen to Becca’s Corporate Gossip for page-six style takes on the business world.

For the Die-Hard Listeners

If you survived this episode, you can survive anything.