CBS has shelved plans to re-air a 60 Minutes segment featuring Dr Peter Attia, a new contributor to the network, following the revelation of his crude correspondence with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The segment, originally broadcast in October, was due to be repeated this Sunday but has been replaced with other content.
The decision comes after Attia’s name appeared more than 1,700 times in the latest release of Epstein-related documents. Emails between Attia and Epstein, dating from 2015 to 2017, include lewd jokes and references to a “fresh shipment” of an unspecified item. Attia has apologised for the exchanges, calling them “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible”, but denies any criminal activity.
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who hired Attia as a contributor in January, has faced internal pressure to sever ties with him. However, according to reports, Weiss is reluctant to do so, fearing it would appear as capitulating to “cancel culture”. Sources say Paramount Skydance, the parent company, is deferring to Weiss on the matter.
Attia has already parted ways with wellness brand David Protein over the controversy. The fallout adds to scrutiny of Weiss’s editorial decisions, which have previously included the spiking of a 60 Minutes segment on El Salvador’s mega-prison.
