After much consideration and 1,700 emails to Jeffrey Epstein, "longevity" influencer Peter Attia resigns from CBS

Weeks after much of the world first learned his name, Peter Attia, the “longevity influencer” who was named a CBS News contributor in January, has resigned over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier today, the so-called “internet’s favorite doctor” took up one of the internet’s favorite pastimes, apologizing on X, the Everything app, for having a relationship with a convicted child sex trafficker. If only Epstein were around to coach him on how to proceed, as he has done for many other wealthy and powerful men facing public scutiny for their sexual improprieties. If you need help dealing with a sex crime, an accomplished sex criminal is the guy to ask for advice. 

On X, Attia posted the same email he sent to his “team.” It reads in part:

To be clear:

1. I was not involved in any criminal activity.

2. My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone.

3. I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties.

That said, 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.

It’s another proud day for Team Attia. 

We suppose we can chalk this up to the John Oliver effect. Hours after Last Week Tonight aired a short segment focused on the Epstein fallout, particularly Attia’s association with the man, Attia has officially resigned after weeks of public debate over what the hell that guy is still doing over there. The emails revealed not just Attia’s disgusting witticisms (“pussy is, indeed, low carb”) that CBS will greatly miss out on, but the revelation that, in 2017, Attia opted to go hang with his buddy Jeff as his wife pleaded with him to come home and visit his infant son in the hospital, as the newborn suffered cardiac arrest. (It’s easy to see why he was so important to CBS. This guy will do anything for the story.) Yet, all it took for this house of cards to collapse was one late-night comedian pointing out how utterly revolting it is that a man who prioritizes his close friendship with one of history’s most infamous pedophiles over his dying son holds a job at CBS. No wonder FCC chair Brendan Carr is always going after these guys instead of the media executives who shield Epstein associates. 

Attia rose to prominence as, yup, a consultant for McKinsey & Company, before devoting his time to podcasting about longevity, or the science of living forever, which this 52-year-old has yet to do himself. Hocking everything from immortality to protein bars, Attia caught the eye of Bari Weiss, who, in her quest to make CBS News the scoops capital of the world, probably thought someone who appears 1,700 times in Epstein’s emails might have a few scoops of his own. But clearly, he valued the obscenely wealthy king of Little St. James more than his journalistic integrity. How else could we explain his email to Epstein that read, “You [know] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul.” Withholding the truth from readers? That isn’t the CBS way.