CBS Cuts Ties With Key Figure Over ‘Indefensible’ Epstein Emails
CBS News contributor Peter Attia has ended a promotional relationship with a wellness company following public criticism related to email exchanges involving Jeffrey Epstein, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
Attia, a physician and podcaster who joined CBS News as a contributor in 2025, had been associated with the brand, which markets nutritional supplements and wellness products. Recent online posts highlighted email communications between Attia and individuals connected to Epstein’s social circle, drawing scrutiny from social media users and commentators.
“Dr. Peter Attia has stepped down from his role as Chief Science Officer at David. We remain focused on serving our customers,” Peter Rahal, the founder of the protein bar company, posted on X.
In a statement, Attia, a major investor in the brand, said he would “no longer be associated” with the company, expressing disappointment at how portions of the emails were being portrayed and acknowledging that the situation had become a distraction from his work.
Representatives for the brand confirmed Attia’s departure but did not detail the terms of the separation.
The decision came shortly after Attia offered a heartfelt apology on Monday, expressing his shame over the “tasteless and indefensible” emails he exchanged with the convicted pedophile years ago.
The celebrity doctor appeared approximately 1,700 times in the recent batch of Epstein files released last week, the New York Post reported.
In one 2015 email, Attia told the sex pest, “The biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul…”
He also fired off a stomach-churning email in 2016 in which the physician joked that “p—y is, indeed, low carb.”
CBS News has not publicly commented on the matter. Attia’s role at the network includes contributions on health, science and wellness topics, and his contract with CBS News remains in effect, according to sources familiar with the situation.
As of Monday evening, CBS News executives were considering whether to sever ties with Attia in response to the backlash. However, Bari Weiss, the editor in chief and a longtime critic of cancel culture, was reportedly hesitant to take that step, according to a source who spoke with The Post.
Attia has an extensive career in medicine and media and hosts a popular health podcast.
Attia, who boasts 1.7 million followers on Instagram, insisted his interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with the pervert’s “sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone” and that he “was not involved in any criminal activity.”
“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. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it,” the celebrity doctor said in a lengthy statement on X.
“I am not asking anyone to ignore the emails or pretend they aren’t ugly. They simply are,” he said. “The man I am today, roughly ten years later, would not write them and would not associate with Epstein at all. Whatever growth I’ve had over the past decade does not erase the emails I wrote then.”
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before the U.S. House Oversight Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into Epstein, according to an aide to the panel.
The announcement comes days before a scheduled House vote on whether to hold the Clintons in criminal contempt of Congress for previously declining to comply with subpoenas in the investigation. Committee leaders had announced plans to advance contempt charges after the couple missed earlier deposition deadlines.
Attorneys for the Clintons said the couple will appear for sworn depositions on mutually agreed-upon dates and requested that the full chamber delay or withdraw the contempt vote. In a statement, representatives for the Clintons said they had “negotiated in good faith” and intended to participate in testimony.
