Peter Attia, recently appointed as a star contributor for CBS News, has had to cut ties with the popular protein bar company David Protein following revelations about his personal emails with the late Jeffrey Epstein.
The 52-year-old expert in longevity announced his resignation from the company’s chief scientific officer position late Monday. Reports suggest that CBS News is also contemplating terminating his role there.
Peter Rahal, the founder of David Protein, shared this news in a post on X, stating, “Dr. Peter Attia has stepped down from his role as David’s Chief Scientific Officer. We remain focused on serving our customers.”
Attia, who had been a significant investor in the brand, has since been removed from the company’s website.
This decision followed Attia’s public apology earlier on Monday, in which he called the content of his emails “embarrassing,” “in bad taste,” and “indefensible,” referring to exchanges from several years ago with Epstein, a convicted pedophile.
Recent documents leaked from the Epstein files mentioned Attia around 1,700 times. In one email from 2015, he remarked, “What’s the biggest problem with being friends with you? Your life is so outrageous, I still can’t tell anyone…”
In another from 2016, he sent a disconcerting joke, stating, “Py is indeed low-carb.”
Despite the scrutiny, Attia maintained that his communications with Epstein had no connection to any form of abuse or criminal conduct, asserting, “I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where my emails (some of which were embarrassing, dry, and inexcusable) were made public. It was my responsibility. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.”
He acknowledged the discomfort of his emails, stating, “I’m not asking anyone to ignore emails or pretend they’re not ugly. They are simply ugly.”
Attia also reflected on his past, indicating, “Roughly 10 years later, I would never have written an email or had anything to do with Epstein. No matter how much I’ve grown over the past 10 years, the emails I wrote back then will never disappear.”
As of Monday evening, CBS News executives were debating whether to part ways with Attia in light of the backlash, although Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, known for her opposition to cancel culture, was reportedly hesitant to take that step.
Attia had just joined CBS News as an on-air contributor on January 27, just three days before new files were released. The network has yet to comment on his status within the organization.
