Dr. Peter Attia Resigns from CBS News Amid Epstein Correspondence Controversy
Dr. Peter Attia's Departure from CBS News
Dr. Peter Attia, a prominent researcher in longevity and a well-known media figure, has decided to resign from his role as a contributor at CBS News. This decision follows the public disclosure of his communications with Jeffrey Epstein, which were revealed in documents released by the Justice Department. CBS News personnel were notified of Attia's resignation on Monday through a message from the network's booking team, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Attia's appointment as a contributor was part of a strategic initiative led by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss to diversify the voices represented across CBS's news platforms. However, shortly after his hiring was announced, emails exchanged between Attia and Epstein surfaced in a collection of documents referred to as the 'Epstein Files.' These emails reportedly included inappropriate banter.
In response to the fallout, CBS decided to withdraw a rerun of a 60 Minutes segment featuring Attia. Initially, he was expected to continue his role, especially since Weiss had previously expressed disapproval of 'cancel culture.' In a message to his colleagues and patients, Attia expressed remorse for the situation, stating, 'I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me.' He acknowledged the reality of the situation and the accompanying humiliation.
Attia's name appears approximately 1,700 times in the nearly three million documents related to Epstein that were released on January 30. Most of the correspondence between him and Epstein occurred during the mid-2010s, following Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, but prior to the 2018 Miami Herald investigation that uncovered further allegations and led to Epstein's arrest in 2019. Attia is among several individuals in the entertainment and media sectors who were found to have had interactions with Epstein, as indicated in the released documents.