Longevity doctor and media personality Peter Attia has stepped down from his role at a popular wellness brand after newly released documents revealed friendly exchanges with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attia stepped down as chief science officer of David Protein, a protein snack bar company he helped promote and invest in, the company confirmed on Monday.
The move comes after the Department of Justice released a new tranche of Epstein-related court documents last week, drawing scrutiny to Attia’s past correspondence with Epstein.
“Dr. Peter Attia has stepped down from his role as Chief Science Officer at David. We remain focused on serving our customers,” founder Peter Rahal wrote on X.
Attia was also named among 19 new CBS News contributors just days before the emails between him and Epstein were made public. CBS editor in chief Bari Weiss has since faced public calls to cut ties with him.
CBS News and David Protein could not be reached for comment.
In emails from 2015 and 2016, included in the latest release, Attia used joking and familiar language with Epstein, including references to Epstein’s “outrageous” lifestyle and a crude sexual joke.
On Monday, Attia issued a public apology, calling some of the emails “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible,” and saying he was “ashamed of myself for everything about this.”
Attia, 52, is a well-known antiaging and longevity expert with roughly 1.6 million Instagram followers.
“I am not asking anyone to ignore the emails or pretend they aren’t ugly,” he wrote on X. “They simply are.”
He said he was not involved in any criminal activity and said his interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with Epstein’s sexual abuse or exploitation.
“The man I am today, roughly ten years later, would not write them and would not associate with Epstein at all,” he said.
