My momma taught me that you are judged by the company you keep and that you protect your reputation at all costs.
And if you are a physician with a massive public platform, that lesson is not just about keeping your nose clean. It’s your job.
In the influencer-doctor world, your “reputational capital” is your currency. It is the reason people buy your book, listen to your podcast, trust your advice, and tell their friends, “This guy is legit.”
This past weekend, Peter Attia’s reputational capital account drained in the blink of an eye.
First, who is Peter Attia?
If you are orbiting in the longevity universe, here’s the quick version. Peter Attia is a physician and a major voice in the “live longer, live better” space. He hosts a popular podcast, wrote Outlive, and runs businesses related to longevity and preventive medicine. He is also someone who has built a brand around being precise, thoughtful, and science-forward, though with a bit of a machismo attitude.
That brand matters because when you put yourself on a stage as the health authority, people do not just judge your ideas. They judge your judgment.
What the Epstein files do and do not say
The newly released batch of Justice Department records includes a huge trove of Epstein-related documents, including emails. Reporting says Attia’s name appears over 1700 times in these records, and some of the email exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein are gross and demeaning to women.
Important point: these reports do not accuse Attia of committing a crime. He has not been charged with criminal wrongdoing in connection with this. He has denied any involvement in illegal activity and says he never visited Epstein’s island, never flew on his plane, and never attended any “sex parties.”
So no, the story is not “Peter Attia committed a proven illegal act.”
But also, no, that does not let him off the hook. Not even close.
The biggest issue is not legality. It is judgment.
Here is the line that separates regular people from physicians. Doctors are held to a higher standard because they are trusted with vulnerable humans. That trust is sacred. And once you build a career on trust, you don’t get to play dumb when the shit hits the fan.
If you choose to be connected to someone like Jeffrey Epstein, you are choosing risk. Not just legal risk. Reputational risk. Ethical risk. Human risk.
And if you are a public physician, you do not get to pretend you did not understand the assignment.
“Reputational capital” is the whole job
I want to sit on this for a minute, because it is the heart of the situation.
Reputational capital is the invisible bank account you build when people believe you are:
- honest
- careful
- safe
- ethical
- worth listening to
It grows slowly. It drains fast.
And it drains even faster when the story involves a man who became a symbol of exploitation.
Even if Attia did not participate in any illegal activity, the public reaction makes sense. People look at this and think: Why were you there? Why were you friendly? Why were you joking?
Reporting describes an exchange where Attia wrote a crude line to Epstein in 2016. Google it, I’m not putting it here. There is also an email subject line described as “Got a fresh shipment,” and Attia later claimed it referred to a photo of metformin for his own use, while Epstein’s reply included a photo of an adult woman.
That is the kind of detail that does not just “look bad.” It makes people’s stomachs turn.
And when your entire brand is trust, stomach-turning is not a small problem.
The moral failing: “I didn’t know” is not a strong defense for a doctor
Attia says he met with Epstein multiple times between 2014 and 2018, describing about seven or eight meetings at Epstein’s New York City home.
He also says he asked Epstein about his 2008 conviction and that Epstein minimized it. Attia says he later learned it had been “grossly minimized.”
Here is where the moral failing shows up.
As a physician, you are trained to notice risk. You are trained to read a room. You are trained to spot patterns. You are trained to protect people.
So when the story is “I met with him for years, and I didn’t know,” that does not inspire confidence. It inspires one of two reactions:
- You were shockingly naive, or
- You knew enough to recognize the stink, and you stayed anyway and turned a blind eye.
Neither option is a good look for a doctor who wants the public to trust his judgment.
The mandated reporter question
Many health professionals are mandated reporters for suspected child abuse, although the exact rules depend on your state and your role.
We do not have public proof that Attia had reportable knowledge of abuse. I am not claiming that.
What I am saying is this: if you are in close proximity to someone with a known history of exploitation, and you see anything that raises concern, your duty is not to protect your access. Your duty is to protect the vulnerable.
This is why “I didn’t know” is not the end of the conversation. The real question is: Did you act like a doctor who prioritizes safety over status?
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The “bro science” problem and the hunger for influence
Let’s talk culture.
There is a version of the longevity world that is thoughtful and evidence-based.
And then there is the version that is basically: wealthy men, expensive gadgets, strong opinions, and a lot of confidence with a side of “trust me, bro.”
That ecosystem rewards influence. It rewards being seen with important people. It rewards being close to power.
Attia’s own history includes taking metformin for anti-aging reasons, then stopping because it negatively affected exercise. Which is fine. You do you. Whether you agree with him or not, it shows how this world often blurs the line between careful medicine and personal experimentation that gets turned into content.
And content is influence. Influence is power. Power is intoxicating.
When you spend enough time in that space, you can start to believe the rules do not apply to you.
That is why this situation feels bigger than one set of emails. It looks like a pattern of believing you can manage optics, manage risk, and keep your halo.
Until you can’t.
He had years to get in front of this
According to reporting, the last correspondence between Attia and Epstein appears to have happened in spring 2019, shortly before Epstein’s arrest later that summer.
Do the math.
That is years of time to say, plainly: “I knew him. I regret it. I made a terrible judgment call. Here is what I learned.”
Instead, it came out like a scandal.
And when a story breaks like that, people assume you were hiding. Even if you were not “hiding,” you were certainly not leading with transparency.
That is another deposit pulled from the reputational bank account.
The PR missteps: the three-day vacuum
Timing matters.
The Justice Department release dropped on a Friday, and Attia posted his long response on X the following Monday, after news reports about the emails circulated.
Three days might not sound like much, but in a story connected to Epstein, three days is an eternity. Silence becomes a vacuum. And vacuums get filled with worst-case assumptions.
Then there is the method: he posted what he described as an email he sent to his team, and he did it on X.
No press conference. No direct video statement. No broad, “I am going to answer questions” posture. Just a long written post in one place.
That reads like containment, not accountability.
And the tone, based on what is quoted and summarized in reporting, leans heavily toward:
- I did not do anything illegal.
- I was not on the plane or the island.
- I did not see anyone underage.
- Here is what the “fresh shipment” meant.
- I am ashamed of the crude banter.
Yes, he uses words like “embarrassing,” “tasteless,” “indefensible,” and “ashamed.”
But the overall energy is still very “I didn’t know” and “I’m not that guy.”
A true apology centers the people who feel unsafe and betrayed, not the speaker’s legal perimeter.
If your first instinct is to prove you are not guilty, you are not speaking the language of trust. You’re speaking the language of defense.
The consequences show how fast reputational capital can burn
This is not just internet drama. Real consequences are showing up fast.
Reuters reported that CBS News was expected to sever ties with Attia over the Epstein links, and that his association triggered backlash because he had recently been named a CBS contributor.
Reuters also reported that he stepped down as chief science officer at David Protein after the disclosures. Business Insider similarly reported his departure in that context.
That is what a reputational capital dumpster fire looks like in real time. Doors start closing. Partnerships start wobbling. People who once wanted your name near theirs are running in the other direction.
Why women’s health deserves women’s voices
Women’s health has been ignored, minimized, and misunderstood for way too long. Many women are already exhausted by being dismissed, gaslit, and told their suffering is “normal.”
In that environment, we do not need another dude positioned as the authority on women’s bodies. Attia positioned as a menopause expert just doesn’t fly with me. My personal opinion is that if you’ve never had a uterus and all the experiences that go with it, you don’t get a seat in the front row.
Can men contribute to women’s health? Of course. As researchers, clinicians, and allies. But they should not dominate the conversation. They should not be the loudest voice. And they should not be treated as the default “expert” while women fight to be heard about their own lived experience.
When a male public figure in health is linked, even indirectly, to the Epstein universe, the trust gap for women gets wider. Not because of politics. Because of safety.
Women are not obligated to hand trust to anyone. Trust is earned.
The bottom line
This is not mainly a legal story.
It is a reputational story.
It is an ethics story.
It is a “how do you behave when power is in the room” story.
And it is a reminder that you can build a big, splashy brand on science and still lose it through one thing: terrible judgment about who you choose to be around, and how you choose to respond when it comes to light.
Because your reputation is not what you say about yourself.
It is what your choices say about you when you think nobody is watching
Dr. Anna Garrett is a menopause expert and Doctor of Pharmacy. She helps women who are struggling with symptoms of perimenopause and menopause find natural hormone balancing solutions so they can rock their mojo through midlife and beyond. Dr. Anna is the author of Perimenopause: The Savvy Sister’s Guide to Hormone Harmony. Order your copy at www.perimenopausebook.com.
Dr. Anna is available for 1-1 consultations. Find out more at www.drannagarrett.com/lets-
