Sam Altman has denied his sister’s claims that he sexually abused her as a child in a new lawsuit.
The 39-year-old CEO of OpenAI is a co-founder of the San Francisco-based company behind ChatGPT and a venture capitalist, who has raised much of his $1 billion through investments, according to Forbes.
Anna Altman, 30, filed a report on Monday in a US court in Missouri – where the siblings grew up – alleging that her brother abused her between 1997 (when Ann was just three years old and Sam was 12) and 2006.
The disturbing lawsuit, which names Ann Altman as a plaintiff, says Sam ‘groomed and manipulated’ [her] to believe that the aforementioned sexual acts were her idea, despite the fact that she was less than five years old when the sexual abuse began and [she] was almost a teenager.’
It was claimed that Sam Altman was ‘forced’ [her] to touch his penis and perform oral penetration on him.”
Ann Altman claimed that because of this alleged abuse, which allegedly occurred “several times a week,” she “suffered a loss of enjoyment of a normal life as a result of her emotional injuries.”
According to the complaint, she is seeking $75,000 in legal fees and unspecified damages from a jury trial.
Sam Altman – who came out as gay to his parents at the age of 16 – posted a statement on social media on Tuesday, addressed not only to himself, but also to his mother Connie and brothers Max and Jack, denying the allegations .
Sam Altman (pictured left) denies claims by his sister Ann (pictured center left) in a new lawsuit that OpenAI’s CEO sexually abused her as a child
The 39-year-old CEO is co-founder of the San Francisco-based company behind ChatGPT and a venture capitalist who has raised much of his $1 billion through investments, according to Forbes
“Annie has made very hurtful and completely untrue claims about our family, and especially Sam. We have chosen not to respond publicly, out of respect for her privacy and ours. However, she has now taken legal action against Sam and we feel we have no choice but to address this,” they wrote.
They added that Annie “struggles with mental health issues” and that they have helped her financially — including promising to buy her a house and pay her rent and medical expenses — but said she “remains more money ours to demand.’
According to Sam, his brothers and mother, Ann has made increasingly extreme accusations against her family over the years, leading up to this lawsuit.
These accusations include withholding her share of their late father Jerry’s 401k money, hacking into her WiFi, and being shadow-banned from various social media outlets.
“All these claims are completely untrue. This situation is causing tremendous pain to our entire family. It is especially heartbreaking when she refuses conventional treatments and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help.”
Ann Altman posted a thread on social media in 2021 in which she previously accused brothers Sam and Jack of “sexual, physical, emotional, financial and technological abuse” and suggested there were more accusers.
Missouri state law has a statute of limitations on child sexual abuse claims until the alleged victim is 31 years old.
Ryan J. Mahoney, attorney for Ann Altman, said Business insider: ‘With this lawsuit, Annie seeks what every survivor of sexual abuse wants: justice and accountability.’
Ann Altman, 30, filed a lawsuit Monday in a U.S. court in Missouri, alleging that her brother abused her between 1997 (when Ann was just three years old and Sam was 12) and 2006.
The disturbing lawsuit, which names Ann Altman as a plaintiff, says Sam ‘groomed and manipulated’ [her] to believe that the aforementioned sexual acts were her idea, despite the fact that she was less than five years old when the sexual abuse began and [she] was almost a teenager
Sam Altman posted a statement on social media on Tuesday, addressed not only to himself but also to his mother Connie and brothers Max and Jack, denying the allegations
He added that their client was not surprised by her family’s denial.
DailyMail.com has reached out to both Mahoney and OpenAI for comment.
Ann and her brothers have documented their difficult, estranged relationship before, in 2023 New York Magazine profile.
Writer Elizabeth Weil said that Annie “doesn’t exist in Sam’s public life” and she goes through various mental health issues, including claims that she wanted to kill herself at the age of six.
In 2020, she moved to Hawaii and in recent years has supported herself financially by doing sex work, including an OnlyFans site.
‘As Annie tells her life story, she felt special and loved when Sam read her bedtime stories as a child. Now those memories feel like abuse,” the newspaper profile claimed.
The story also said that Sam Altman wanted to buy her a house and the family said in a statement: “We love Annie and will continue to do our utmost to support and protect her, as any family would.”
Sam Altman has become a power player in the technology space since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in November 2022.
Ann Altman posted a thread on social media in 2021 in which she previously accused brothers Sam and Jack of “sexual, physical, emotional, financial and technological abuse” and suggested there were more accusers
Sam Altman has become a power player in technology since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in November 2022
San Francisco’s mayor-elect asked him to join his transition team, even as the company continues to lobby the city for tax breaks.
However, 2024 has been a difficult year for the CEO, with a lawsuit from Elon Musk in March and toxic workplace claims in May.
Musk said that when he funded the creation of OpenAI, he made an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, to keep the AI company as a nonprofit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public.
Under the founding agreement, OpenAI would also open its code to the public rather than shielding it from a private company’s profit, the lawsuit said.
However, by embracing a close relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI and its top executives have “set that pact on fire” and are “perverting” the company’s mission, Musk alleges in the lawsuit.
OpenAI responded in December by claiming that Musk said in 2017 that he “not only wanted, but actually created” a profit motive to serve OpenAI’s structure.
In November 2023, when Altman was temporarily kicked out of his own company, a statement said his dismissal was due to his “failure to [being] consistently candid in his communications.’ Altman returned to ChatGPT as CEO days after being fired.
Two of the board members involved in the short-lived ouster of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in November have finally broken their silence on what happened in a new op-ed.
The lifting of the lid by former board members Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley comes a week after Altman was forced to apologize to Scarlett Johansson over allegations that he approved the use of her voice without proper authorization.