Peter Attia leaves CBS News contributor role amid fallout from Epstein files
Celebrity physician Peter Attia is stepping down as a CBS News contributor amid growing scrutiny of his email exchanges with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attia, best known for his social media content on the science of longevity, told CBS he would resign from his position effective immediately, and the news division’s reservations department informed CBS News staff Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
In a statement, an Attia spokesperson said its “contributor role was newly established and had not yet begun in any meaningful way.”
“As such,” the spokesperson added, “he has taken a step back to ensure that his involvement does not become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS. He wishes the network and its leadership well and has no further comment at this time.”
Attia’s name appears frequently in a cache of Epstein files released by the Justice Department earlier this month. In the 2010s, records show, the two exchanged jokes, agreed to dates and discussed the late financier’s health.
Attia has not been charged with any crime.
In a February 2016 post, Attia made a crude joke that female genitals were “low carb.”
In a lengthy article on X on February 2, Attia insisted that his “interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone.”
“I have not been involved in any criminal activity,” Attia said in his post, adding that he was “never on his plane, never on his island and never present at sex parties.”
“I apologize and regret having placed myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, distasteful and indefensible, are now public, and it is my fault. I accept this reality and the humiliation that accompanies it,” Attia wrote.
Epstein, who was convicted in Florida in 2008 of child prostitution, died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Attia is the author of the bestselling book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and the host of the popular podcast “The Peter Attia Drive.” He is a leading advocate of longevity science, a medical philosophy focused on ways to extend lifespan.
He was among a group of contributors recruited in January by CBS News editor Bari Weiss, who was hired by Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison to “invigorate” the network’s news division.
Weiss’ stable of contributors also includes historian Niall Ferguson and wellness influencer Andrew Huberman.
