CBS News is facing a major internal fight over a new contributor who appeared nearly 2,000 times in recently released Jeffrey Epstein files. Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is battling to keep Peter Attia on staff, while Paramount, CBS’s parent company, wants him gone.
Weiss announced Attia and other contributors just days before the controversy erupted. Attia, who calls himself a “longevity expert” and charges $2,500 for his subscription service, exchanged messages with Epstein until the disgraced financier died by suicide in 2019 after his arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges. According to The Wrap, CBS News was ready to cut ties with Attia, but Weiss still wants to keep him on the team.
The relationship between Attia and Epstein went beyond casual contact. Court records from the Department of Justice show that in 2017, Attia chose to meet Epstein in New York instead of going to the hospital where his infant son was being treated. His wife had begged him to come, but Attia ignored her pleas. He later admitted in his book, Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, that he abandoned his family during this emergency to keep his plans with the convicted sex offender.
Attia’s troubling exchanges with Epstein raise serious questions
The emails between Attia and Epstein contained disturbing content. Attia reportedly told Epstein that “p—y” was low carb and called the financier’s lifestyle so “outrageous” that he couldn’t tell other people about it. These revelations mirror other disturbing Epstein communications recently revealed.
Paramount views this as a serious problem, especially since Attia is supposed to give medical advice on CBS. However, Weiss is refusing to fire him. An insider said “it’s Bari versus everyone right now on Attia.” This fight fits perfectly with Weiss’s public image. She quit The New York Times in July 2020, claiming her colleagues “bullied” her over her anti-woke views. She has said “it is our duty to resist the crowd in this age of mob thinking.”
Weiss, who is seen as MAGA-curious and kissed President Trump last year, reportedly “hates cancel culture and doesn’t want to cut [Attia] lose from his contributor’s gig.” But others at CBS argue that having a physician who had strange exchanges with Epstein is bad for the network’s image.
This is especially true since Attia stayed in contact with Epstein even after Epstein pleaded guilty to sex with a minor. Attia has a medical degree and a physician’s license, but he is not board-certified. Attia released a long statement that offered excuses but not much of an apology.
He said he was impressed by Epstein’s elite social connections, private plane, and ownership of “the largest home in all of Manhattan.” Attia claimed Epstein’s wealth and lifestyle made him ignore the 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. He said Epstein described it as just “prostitution-related charges.” The case continues to draw scrutiny, with experts analyzing Epstein’s final days for evidence.
Attia wrote that he hadn’t met many prominent people at that point in his career. He said “the presence and credibility of such venerable people in different orbits led me to make assumptions about him that clouded my judgment in ways it shouldn’t have.”
His defense essentially blames being too impressed by wealth and power. Weiss was brought to CBS to please President Trump and his supporters, but now her fight against cancel culture is causing problems with corporate leaders. Weiss has also been accused of censorship herself after she blocked a segment about conditions at an El Salvador megaprison last year.
Published: Feb 3, 2026 10:45 am