Peter Attia is an MD focused on longevity and living well in old age. He runs a high-end clinic, is a regular guest and host on podcasts, and wrote the best-selling book Outlive.
And he is mentioned 1737 times in the weekend’s release of the Epstein files.
The mentions are from 2015 to 2019, years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008.
The files show that Attia met with Epstein multiple times and appears to have had a comfortable and friendly relationship with him, so much so that Attia emailed Epstein in 2016 with the hilarious one-liner, “pussy is indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.”
Indeed, Attia presents a cautionary tale about influencers and experts, even those who appear to have all the right qualifications.
Attia is just one of the many high-profile men mentioned, but a name that came up as a surprise to many, and one representing the broader network of individuals who may not have participated in “criminal” behaviour, but at least participated in sharing crude comments about women – even when they’re promoting a public career that’s also about health and care for others.
Those of us who’ve long followed Attia, read his book, and even taken on some of his advice, are likely not only surprised but sickened by Attia’s crude comments about women shared in various emails as well as what some of the released emails.
The files also indicate Attia and Epstein were friends, and that Attia was aware of Epstein’s “outrageous” life.
On June 24, 2015, Attia wrote to Epstein:
“the biggest problem with becoming friends with you?
The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul…”
That email was in response to an email sent hours earlier from Epstein with the two words “fraid not”, below the subject “Re: Got a fresh shipment.”
Another horror suggestion that’s comes up in the files is that Attia may have been with Epstein in New York, while his wife was in the hospital with their baby, following a near-fatal incident. Attia wrote in his 2022 book about his anger at himself for failing to come home after his wife “pleaded” with him to do so, after their son had suddenly stopped breathing and had been rushed to the hospital. “I called in daily to talk to the doctors and discuss each day’s test results, but I stayed in New York, with my, quote, important work.”
Attita wrote that it was “Tuesday July, 11, 2017, at 5:45 to be exact” when he received the call, and that he regretted being so focused on his work that he failed to get back to his family. Emails between Epstein, Attia, and Epstein’s assistant, Leslie Groff, confirm a meeting between Epstein and Attia in New York on July 13, 2017.
Attia didn’t immediately respond to his name being frequently included in the release of the files over the weekend, instead posting his take on a recent trial involving metformin on Instagram. Thousands of comments later, including many asking what he has to say, Attia released a lengthy statement on Tuesday morning declaring he is “ashamed”.
He shared with his millions of social media followers a “similar” version of the statement he said he had sent to his team and his patients.
“I apologise 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 that “to be clear”, he was not involved in any criminal activity and that his interactions with Epstein, he said, had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone. He declared he had never been on his plane, his island or at any of his sex parties.
He said he first met Epstein in 2014 through “a prominent female healthcare leader while I was raising funds for scientific research.” He continued to meet with him until the Northern Hemisphere Spring of 2019.
Attia said he asked Epstein about his 2008 conviction, and that Epstein characterised it as prostitution-related charges. He said it was only in 2018 that he “came to learn this was grossly minimised.”
“I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment.”
Still, Attia clearly had a close enough relationship with Epstein that he felt it was appropriate to make grotesque jokes in writing.
As a former medical researcher, he likely had the skills to investigate exactly what Epstein was charged with, and just why he spent 13 months in prison.
In the years since the full allegations about Epstein have been revealed, Attia has also had plenty of opportunities to come out and admit he’d had a previous working or otherwise relationship with Epstein, and to publicly call out the abuse Epstein and others were involved in.
But Attia has hardly presented as an individual concerned about Epstein, or concerned about the fact that his trove of emails to Epstein would one day be released. Perhaps Attia thought they’d never actually be made public, or would never garner much attention.
Perhaps he thought it’d all blow over – with the next shock announcement from President Trump.
Perhaps he thought his expertise, influence and power would be enough for people to forgive him, to overlook the interactions as simple mistakes made ten years ago.
And perhaps that’s what many people will do.
But not all of us.