The celebrity doctor Peter Attia is stepping down as a contributor to CBS News amid growing scrutiny on his email exchanges with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Attia, best known for his social media content about longevity science, told CBS he would resign from the position effective immediately, and the news division’s booking department informed CBS News staff Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

In a statement, a spokesman for Attia said his “contributor role was newly established and had not yet meaningfully begun.”

“As such,” the spokesman added, “he stepped back to ensure his involvement didn’t become a distraction from the important work being done at CBS. He wishes the network and its leadership well and has no further comment at this time.”

Attia’s name appears frequently in a cache of Epstein files released by the Justice Department earlier this month. In the 2010s, according to the files, the two men traded jokes, arranged times to meet and chatted about the late financier’s health.

Attia has not been accused of any crimes.

In a message in February 2016, Attia made a crude joke that female genitalia was “low carb.”

In a lengthy post on X on Feb. 2, Attia insisted that his “interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone.”

“I was not involved in any criminal activity,” Attia said in the post, adding that he was “never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties.”

“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,” Attia wrote.

Epstein, who was convicted in Florida in 2008 on a child prostitution charge, died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Attia is the author of the best-selling book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and host of the popular podcast “The Peter Attia Drive.” He is a leading champion of longevity science, a medical philosophy centered on ways to extend one’s life span.

He was part of a group of contributors recruited in January by CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, who was hired by Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison to “invigorate” the network news division.

Weiss’ stable of contributors also includes historian Niall Ferguson and wellness influencer Andrew Huberman.

Britain’s film academy and the BBC apologized to viewers after an audience member with Tourette syndrome shouted a racial slur during the British Academy Film Awards.

The offensive word could be heard as “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s ceremony.

Host Alan Cumming had earlier told the audience that a guest at the ceremony was John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette’s who inspired the BAFTA-nominated film “I Swear.”

“I Swear” won two BAFTAs, including best actor for Robert Aramayo, who plays Davidson.

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalizations, including the uttering of inappropriate words.

After the outburst, Cumming apologized to the audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the “strong and offensive language.”

“Tourette syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language,” Cumming said. “We apologize if you were offended.”

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts said in a statement Monday that it wanted to “acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.” 

“We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion,” the academy said. “We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.”

After the incident, the academy said Davidson “chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.”

The academy extended an apology to Jordan and Lindo, and thanked them for “their incredible dignity and professionalism.”

The epithet could be heard when the BBC broadcast the ceremony about two hours after the live event.

The broadcaster apologized, though the offensive word could still be heard on its streaming service on Monday morning. The program was later removed, and the BBC said the slur would be edited out.

“Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional,” the BBC said in a statement. “We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”

Ed Palmer, vice chairman of the charity Tourettes Action, said the BBC should have considered bleeping out the slur.

“This is really one of the most acute examples of where something that is a disability can cause quite understandably huge amounts of offense to someone,” he told Times Radio. “So, if it’s being prerecorded now, then bleeping it out, for example, might be a reasonable compromise.”