Peter Attia Leaves CBS News Amid Epstein Email Fallout

Austin-based longevity doctor and health influencer Dr. Peter Attia is stepping away from his role as a CBS News contributor after emails between him and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, surfaced in newly released Justice Department records.

CBS staff were notified Monday that Attia would resign effective immediately, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The exit comes weeks after CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss announced Attia as part of a group of outside contributors meant to expand the network’s on-air and digital lineup.

Before his exit, CBS had already pulled a rerun of a “60 Minutes” segment featuring Attia as the emails began circulating, Variety reported.

Attia’s resignation follows public backlash after his name appeared more than 1,700 times in documents tied to Epstein that were recently released by the Justice Department.

Inclusion in the files does not, by itself, allege criminal wrongdoing — and Attia has said he was not involved in any criminal activity or sexual exploitation connected to Epstein.

“Dr. Attia’s contributor role was newly established and had not yet meaningfully begun,” a spokesperson for Attia told the American-Statesman Monday. “As such, he stepped back to ensure his involvement didn’t 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.”

The documents include correspondence between Attia and Epstein that stretches largely across the mid-2010s — after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor but before his 2019 federal sex-trafficking arrest.

The newly released material includes emails in which the two discussed scientific research, fundraising and longevity medicine, as well as more casual exchanges that later drew public criticism. One widely circulated 2016 message from Attia to Epstein referenced female anatomy as “indeed, low carb.”

In Feb. 2 public apology, Attia said he regretted the communications and called some of the emails “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible.” He has said his relationship with Epstein was professional and limited, mostly centered on scientific networking and efforts to raise funding for research. Attia said he met Epstein several times in New York between 2014 and 2019 but never traveled with him, was never on his private plane or island and did not serve as his physician.

He has also said he had no knowledge of sexual abuse or exploitation connected to Epstein.

Attia said he accepts responsibility for putting himself in a position where the correspondence became public but said his views and judgment have changed in the years since.

Attia’s departure from CBS adds to a growing list of professional consequences following the document release.

Earlier this month, he stepped down as chief science officer of David Protein and was removed from the website of another company where he had been listed in an advisory role.

Attia is a Stanford-trained physician known for his work in longevity and preventative medicine.

He has built a large audience through podcasts, books and public appearances, including South by Southwest in Austin. His profile has made him one of the most visible Austin-based figures mentioned in the latest Epstein document release.