CBS Star Peter Attia Departs Just Days After Hiring in Unanticipated Turn of Events

A self-proclaimed wellness guru, recently ousted from CBS, is now facing a lawsuit for concealing his close ties with the disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein. This revelation comes after the individual was named in Epstein’s extensive files a staggering 1,741 times.

Peter Attia, known for his wellness advocacy, reportedly exchanged hundreds of emails with Epstein. Disturbingly, many of these correspondences were explicit or sexually charged, occurring even after Epstein’s initial conviction.

Epstein, notorious for his involvement in child sex trafficking, was convicted in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. These charges were widely publicized, making the revelations about Attia’s connection even more shocking.

The truth about Attia’s dealings with Epstein came to light on January 30 when the Department of Justice made public a trove of investigative documents. This disclosure severely tarnished Attia’s public image.

In the wake of these allegations, Attia was compelled to resign from CBS shortly after his appointment. Sponsors, business partners, and supporters swiftly severed ties with him, seeking to avoid association with the scandal.

Among the companies caught in the fallout was Oura, makers of the popular Oura Ring which tracks sleep, heart rate, fitness, and other health indicators.

Attia was already in a protracted legal squabble with Oura since 2023 when he sued over payment for advisory and promotion work he did in 2017 to 2022, but the Finnish firm filed its own claim against Attia on Wednesday.

Oura’s countersuit claims Attia’s clandestine relationship with Epstein while promoting its products caused ‘brand erosion and reputational harm’ and a customer boycott.

Controversial ‘wellness expert’ Peter Attia’s reputation was shredded after he appeared more than 1,700 times in the Epstein files

Attia called notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein his ‘friend’ in hundreds of email they exchanged, many after the billionaire’s first sex crimes conviction

The company claimed Attia ‘fraudulently concealed’ his Epstein connection while presenting himself as ‘a trusted health authority and representative of the company’.

‘The recent revelations regarding Peter Attia’s longstanding relationship with Jeffrey Epstein are deeply disturbing and were entirely unknown to us,’ Oura told the Daily Mail.

‘Epstein’s crimes caused devastating harm to women and girls, and anyone who maintained a relationship with him, especially after those crimes became public, has serious questions to answer.

‘Over the years, Attia has sought to extract unearned compensation tied to Oura’s success, while concealing conduct that is fundamentally inconsistent with our values as a brand that champions women’s health and wellness. 

‘We will act decisively to uphold our values and commitment to the women we serve.’

Oura claimed that despite the company being unaware of Attia’s friendship with Epstein, customers were already discussing boycotts.

The countersuit pointed to Reddit threads where users talked about canceling their subscriptions ‘since Peter Attia is involved with Oura’, stating they did not want to support him financially ‘after what’s come of the emails’.

Other threads mentioned Oura as part of Attia’s ‘paid association’ network.

Attia is the founder of Outlive and a popular influencer and podcaster with 1.7 million Instagram followers and a million more on YouTube.

He shares his controversial views on a range of health and wellness topics, particularly longevity, which is the focus of his company.

Attia (pictured with his wife Jill and thier daughter) was forced to quit CBS just days after being hired and sponsors, partners, and fans quickly began to distance themselves from him

The Oura Ring became very popular during the time Attia was an advisor, including with celebrities like Prince Harry (pictured  with one on in 2018)

Jennifer Aniston wearing an Oura Ring during a break from filming in NYC in 2024

Oura’s lawyers trawled through Attia’s 1,741 mentions in the Epstein files and used his own words against him.

‘[Female genitalia] is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten, though,’ one of the emails Attia sent to Epstein read.

Oura claimed Attia’s misogynistic emails like that one, and his minimizing of Epstein’s crimes, damaged the company’s commitment to women’s health.

The firm also claimed Attia’s emails showed he ‘recognized his “actions and words have consequences” for those associated with him’.

‘You [know] the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul,’ he wrote to the pedophile in 2015.

Oura claimed this showed ‘Attia knew his relationship with Epstein would destroy his brand credibility and the alleged value proposition of any relationship that he had with Oura.’

‘Attia knew, by his own admission, that Epstein’s lifestyle was ‘outrageous’ and that Epstein’s actions, and his association with Epstein (especially given the nature, length and extent of the relationship they shared), could not be publicly disclosed or to disclosed to Defendants,’ it claimed. 

Attia, in a statement after the emails became public, insisted him writing that he ‘couldn’t tell a soul’ was not because he had any ‘awareness of wrongdoing’ on Epstein’s part – despite the billionaire’s conviction seven years earlier. 

‘[Female genitalia] is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten, though,’ one of the emails Attia sent to Epstein read

Oura claimed this email showed ‘Attia knew his relationship with Epstein would destroy his brand credibility and the alleged value proposition of any relationship that he had with Oura’

‘What I was referring to, poorly and flippantly, was the discretion commanded by those social and professional circles–the idea that you don’t talk about who you meet, the dinners you attend and the power and influence of the people in those settings,’ he wrote.

‘What I wrote in that email reads terribly, and I own that.’

Attia’s very lengthy statement to his customers and staff insisted he ‘was never on [Epstein’s] plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties’ and only met him seven or eight times.

However, Oura claimed in its countersuit that Attia’s statement untruthfully played down his association with Epstein.

Attia wrote that he never treated Epstein, but was asked general medical questions and gave him recommendations for other doctors, but Oura claimed the emails showed the billionaire was effectively his patient.

He sent his nurse to Epstein’s home for fasting blood draws, prescribed medications, ordered and reviewed diagnostic imaging, and coordinated exercise diagnostic assessments.

Oura claimed he even ‘actively solicited Epstein as a formal patient’ by sending him his medical practice overview document.

On June 2, 2015, Attia invited Epstein for blood draws at Attia’s personal laboratory and on June 5, 2015, he ordered various custom panels for Epstein.

‘I want to make 2018 the year we get serious about your health. Heart, brain, insulin resistance, body. If for no other reason, at least you can keep up with the 23-year-old beauties,’ he wrote in the June 5 email.

Attia wearing what he told a follower was an Oura Ring in an April 2018 episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast

Attia explained what the ring in the podcast video was when asked by one of his fans

On February 11, 2016, Attia wrote to Epstein: ‘Yes, we joke about it, but if you’re interested, I would really love to add 5 years or more to your life, while also enhancing your energy/performance, even if the only reason to do so is to have more sex.’ 

Five days later, other email discussions confirmed Attia had already prescribed clomiphene citrate ‘clomid’ to Epstein.

Oura claimed the relationship between Epstein and Attia was so deep that the disgraced financier was the one who convinced him to pivot to the longevity platform he is best known for. 

During an email discussion on June 22, 2015, about Attia’s research, Epstein suggested moving Attia’s focus from obesity and nutrition to longevity. 

Attia incorporated his business Attia Medical, P.C. with the California Secretary of State only four days after receiving this advice.

In addition to its countersuit, Oura used Attia’s relationship with Epstein as a new defense to his ongoing lawsuit.

Attia claimed in his 2023 complaint that Oura reneged on an agreement to give him shares in exchange for his work improving and promoting the Oura ring.

According to his lawsuit, he first discussed helping out the then-struggling company in December 2016.

Attia (left) wearing a ring on his right hand that resembles an Oura Ring in a 2019 podcast interview

Attia is the founder of Outlive and a popular influencer and podcaster with 1.7 million Instagram followers and a million more on YouTube

Attia primarily dealt with Harpreet Rai, who famously joined Oura earlier that year after striking up a conversation with co-founder Karl Kivela in a Whole Foods, and was chief executive from 2018 to 2021.

He told Rai he could ‘provide real-time feedback as to what people who were interested in fitness and health would want from the Oura Ring’ and harness his huge social media muscle to advertise it.

Attia claimed he could promote Oura Ring to hundreds of thousands of people and his endorsement carried weight because he was so discerning.

Though Attia began to assist the company in early 2017, he claimed Rai kept putting off formalizing the arrangement and his compensation in writing.

He claimed the work he did included providing recommendations and identifying errors in the second-generation Oura Ring and help developing, testing, marketing, and promoting it.

Attia’s lawsuit claimed Rai finally sent him a stock option agreement in January 2019 offering 20,000 shares. An email from Rai in early 2021 valued them at $1.3 million.

The lawsuit claimed the shares would now be worth $25 to $31 million. 

In exchange, he continued to provide expertise, promoted the ring and introduce the company to other influencers and investors, he claimed.

Attia’s relationship with Epstein was revealed on January 30 when the Department of Justice released millions of investigation files, devastating his reputation

Attia recommending the Oura Ring during the time he was an advisor for the company

‘Sales of the Oura Ring dramatically increased with the introduction of the second generation model due largely to the promotion of the product on social media by prominent persons of influence – including Dr Attia,’ the complaint claimed.

‘For more than three years, Dr Attia brought in prominent business leaders who, in turn, supported the Defendants’ growth and expansion’

Attia spruiked the Oura Ring in his newsletters and included a discount code three times.

Rai left Oura in December 2021, so he contacted other executives in January 2022 to get the shares, but claimed in the lawsuit that he received no response.

Instead, he claimed he was put off for six months by the company lawyers until he was told the contract wouldn’t be honored and he would instead receive ‘unspecified lesser monetary compensation for past efforts’ if he stayed on. 

Oura’s main defense to Attia’s lawsuit is that Rai was never authorized by the company’s board to offer the health expert the stock option deal, and it was therefore ‘unlawful, unenforceable, and invalid’.

The company pointed out that Attia’s website stated at the time that he ‘receives no compensation’ from Oura.

Attia’s website further stated: ‘Other times I will talk about a product or service produced by a company in one of the two categories above.

‘I still, under no circumstance, am separately compensated to do so, nor do I have commercial or contractual obligations to do so at my insistence.’

Epstein and Attia appeared very chummy in their frequent exchanges that appeared to go well beyond the influencer merely flattering him for benefit

Attia also exchanged emails with Epstein’s staff and associates, including his assistant Lesley Groff, to whom he complained he would ‘go into JE withdrawal’ if he didn’t see his pal soon

Should this defense fail, Oura in its filing on Wednesday claimed Attia’s friendship with Epstein was so damaging to its reputation that it invalidated his claims.

‘[Attia] held himself out to Defendants as a person of high moral character and integrity who would improve Oura’s brand and following through its association and affiliation with him and his social media platforms,’ it claimed.

‘This association fundamentally undermined the value of the services that were the core of [Attia’s] consideration under the alleged agreement.

‘The alleged stock options agreement for which [Attia] seeks relief was predicated on the value of his services, particularly the reputational premium attributable to his perceived honesty and transparency.’

Oura claimed Rai would never have offered Attia anything had he known his ‘true moral character and lack of integrity’, which it claimed ‘catastrophically undermined’ the doctor’s brand value.

‘[Attia’s] association with Epstein was a concealed, latent risk that would eventually destroy the value of [his] services to Oura,’ it claimed.

Epstein and Attia appeared very chummy in their frequent exchanges, which appeared to go well beyond the influencer merely flattering him for his benefit. 

The emails don’t appear to have referenced criminal acts or indicated Attia was involved in any crime.

Epstein with his right-hand woman and longtime lover Ghislaine Maxwell

Attia was hired in January as a contributor to CBS News, along with 18 others handpicked by editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

He was expected to be fired after the Epstein emails surfaced, but instead survived for about two weeks before stepping down.

Attia’s groveling statement admitted to ‘crude, tasteless banter’ and ‘juvenile’ behavior that made him ashamed years later but denied knowledge of Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.

‘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,’ he wrote.

Epstein hanged himself in his jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges that could have imprisoned him for life. 

The Justice Department was last year ordered by Congress in the Epstein Files Transparency Act to release all documents related to the billionaire.