OpenAI’s Sam Altman denies sex abuse allegations in sister’s lawsuit

On By Littum

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman late Tuesday denied allegations in a lawsuit filed by his sister this week accusing the tech billionaire of repeated sexual assault.

The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Eastern District of Missouri on Monday, alleges the abuse took place at the family’s home in Clayton, Missouri — starting when Ann Altman, who goes with Annie, was 3 and Sam was 12.

In the filing, Annie claims the abuse took place “several times a week,” beginning with oral sex and later penetration.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied the sexual abuse allegations made by his sister in a lawsuit filed Monday. Getty Images for The New York Times

The lawsuit alleges that “as a direct and proximate result of the prior acts of sexual assault” the plaintiff has experienced “severe emotional distress, mental anguish and depression which is expected to continue in the future.”

She is seeking a lawsuit and damages in excess of $75,000.

Annie has previously made public allegations of sexual abuse against Sam and their brother, Jack Altman. In a post from 2021 on Xshe said she “experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial and technological abuse” from her siblings.

Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tuesday evening, Sam issued a joint statement with his mother, Connie, and his brothers Jack and Max denying the allegations in the case.

“Annie has made deeply hurtful and completely untrue allegations about our family, and Sam in particular,” the statement said. “We have chosen not to respond publicly out of respect for her privacy and our own. However, she has now taken legal action against Sam and we feel we have no choice but to address this.”

Annie Altman (left) is seeking a jury trial and damages of more than $75,000 in the case against her brother, Sam Altman (right). Facebook/Annie Altman

The family vehemently denied all of the allegations in the lawsuit, claiming that Annie faces “psychological challenges” and “refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help.”

Sam, his mother and brothers claimed they have paid Annie’s bills, covered her rent, helped her find job opportunities, tried to get her medical care and offered to buy her a house through a trust.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI has risen in popularity since the launch of its AI chatbot ChatGPT — which Annie previously claimed Sam “shadowbanned” her from using, according to the family’s statement.

In the lawsuit, Annie (above) claimed the abuse began when she was 3 and Sam was 12. Facebook/Annie Altman

The company was most recently valued at 157 billion dollars after a financing round of 6.6 billion dollars in October – with backers such as Microsoft and Nvidia.

In November 2023, OpenAI’s board removed Altman from his role as CEO, but he was quickly reinstated thanks to investor support.

Altman is also currently embroiled in a legal battle with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, who cut ties with the company in 2018.

SpaceX CEO tries to prevent Altman from turning OpenAI into a for-profit company. He initially sued Altman in March, but withdrew the complaint in a San Francisco court and refiled it in federal court.

OpenAI has claimed that Musk “not only wanted, but actually created a for-profit” structure for the company when he was still involved with the company in 2017.