CBS News is parting ways with longevity physician Dr. Peter Attia after documents showed he had interacted with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In an exclusive with The Hollywood Reporter, officials said staff were told of the decision Monday in a note from the company’s bookings department. Attia told CBS he would resign effective immediately after they made the decision, according to the Reporter.
Attia’s departure comes as a blow to controversial editor-in-chief Bari Weiss after she picked Attia as one of her high-profile contributors in her overhaul of the newsroom. She included him as an attempt to bring in more voices into CBS News’ coverage.
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However, shortly after her decision, the exchanges between Attia and Epstein came to light when the Department of Justice released files showing Attia had corresponded with Epstein. The emails, dated after Epstein was convicted of sex crimes, showed that Attia told Epstein that he had a “fresh shipment” and took a photo of the drug metformin. Epstein responded to him saying, “Me too,” and then a photo of a woman.
The files also showed that Attia told Epstein that “the biggest problem” of being friends with him was that “the life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul.”
After the DOJ released the emails, CBS pulled a rerun of “60 Minutes” featuring Attia, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, many expected the network to keep Attia since Weiss was a vocal critic of “cancel culture.”
Attia has apologized and said that he never did any of the things Epstein was convicted of or alleged to have done.
“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,” Attia said. “I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.”
According to The Reporter, the files mention Attia at least 1,700 times. The bulk of the emails are from the mid-2010s. At this point in Epstein’s criminal history, a Florida jury had already convicted him in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor. However, this was before the 2018 Miami Herald exposé detailed the allegations against him, which later resulted in his arrest.
