Feb 2 (Reuters) - Paramount-owned CBS News PSKY.O is expected to cut ties with new contributor Peter Attia over his dealings with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the Wrap reported on Monday, citing an individual with knowledge of the parent company's thinking.
Attia's name appeared more than 1,700 times in the trove of 3 million emails released as part of the Epstein files by the U.S. justice department on Friday, the report said.
It also said that in the emails, Attia, a wellness expert, appeared "chummy" with the late convicted sex offender, making crude jokes and "gushing about Epstein's 'outrageous' lifestyle".
CBS News and Attia did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The potential move would be a blow to CBS Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss' strategy to restructure operations by adding 19 new contributors and focus on bringing a "streaming mentality" to the network.
Attia boasts a sizable social media following and has more than 1 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he discusses topics relating to health, wellness and longevity. He also has over 1.5 million Instagram followers.
"I was not involved in any criminal activity," Attia said in a post on social media platform X. "My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone."
"That said, 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 said.
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
((Zaheer.Kachwala@thomsonreuters.com;))
Comments