CBS News in Crisis: Star Reporter 'on Brink of Firing' Days After Hiring Over 'Disgusting' Jeffrey Epstein Emails
New CBS News hire Peter Attia tried to explain his Epstein connection in a lengthy statement.
Feb. 2 2026, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
CBS News chief Bari Weiss has egg on her face after one of her brand-new hires, wellness expert Peter Attia, was mentioned 1,741 times in sick late pro Jeffrey Epstein's files, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Attia's hiring was announced on January 27, and three days later, a new trove of documents was released by the Department of Justice that showed Attia had a close friendship with Epstein, where they shared crude jokes about female genitalia. Now, the controversial wellness influencer's job at CBS may be in jeopardy.
'I’m Ashamed of Myself for Everything About This'
Peter Attia has a popular podcast and wrote a book about longevity.
Emails showed Attia was close to Epstein long after the disgraced pedophile pled guilty to two Florida state prostitution charges involving a minor in 2008.
"I go into JE withdrawal when I don’t see him," Attia wrote to Epstein's assistant, Lesley Groff, in 2016.
In an email to Epstein, Attia joked that female genitalia "is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though."
The Peter Attia Drive podcast host addressed his name appearing so many times in the Epstein files in a lengthy statement via X on Monday, February 2, telling readers, "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."
Interactions Had 'Nothing to Do With Sexual Abuse'
Attia said he attended a dinner at Epstein's house with 'prominent heads of state.'
Attia made it clear that he was "not involved in any criminal activity." He proclaimed that "My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone," and that "I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any s-- parties."
The Canadian doctor claimed he met Epstein in 2014 "through a prominent female healthcare leader while I was raising funds for scientific research."
"Between summer 2014 and spring 2019, I met with him on approximately seven or eight occasions at his New York City home, regarding research studies and to meet others he introduced me to...When I was at his home, it was either meeting with him directly, meeting with small groups of scientists, doctors, or business leaders, and once at a dinner in 2015 with a number of guests, including prominent heads of state." Attia wrote.
Epstein 'Grossly Minimized' His Prostitution Conviction
Epstein's 2019 mugshot from when he was arrested on federal s-- trafficking charges.
The physician explained he asked Epstein about his 2008 prostitution conviction shortly after they met.
"He characterized it as prostitution-related charges. In 2018, I came to learn this was grossly minimized. I was incredibly naïve to believe him. I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment," he said.
The Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity author added, "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."
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CBS News chief Bari Weiss announced Attia's hiring three days before his name appeared in the Epstein files.
Weiss announced Attia's hiring along with 18 other paid contributors to CBS News who are to appear "across all of the network's broadcasts and digital platforms."
He was credited as the "founder of Outlive, a new app that translates longevity science into personalized daily practice; and Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients, aiming to simultaneously lengthen their lifespan and increase their healthspan" in addition to his podcast and book.
Weiss was brought aboard CBS News in October 2025, with orders from Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison to restore balance to the network news division after it had been accused of going too "woke."
The Free Press founder already shook up CBS Evening News, elevating Tony Dokoupil from CBS Mornings to the nightly anchor desk after John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois abruptly resigned following Weiss's hiring.
