CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, finds himself facing fresh legal troubles. Sam’s sister, Ann Altman, has sued him, accusing him of sexual abuse. She alleges that Sam abused her when she was a child, with the lawsuit including allegations of rape.
Sam has rejected all the accusations and released a joint statement with his family, claiming that Ann’s allegations are “utterly untrue.” The family stated that Ann has been dealing with “mental health issues” and alleged that she has previously attempted to extort them.
Ann has not responded to the family’s statements, but her lawyer said they want Sam Altman to face a jury trial.
Ann claims that when she was barely 3 years old, Sam abused her several times a week. The alleged abuse occurred between 1997 and 2006. Ann has made similar accusations in the past. In November 2021, she tweeted on X (formerly Twitter):
“I experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and technological abuse from my biological siblings, mostly Sam Altman and some from Jack Altman.”
In her filing on Monday, Ann’s attorneys requested that Sam Altman pay her $75,000 in damages.
In the statement released by the Altman family, they wrote:
“Our family loves Annie and is very concerned about her well-being. Caring for a family member who faces mental health challenges is incredibly difficult. We know many families facing similar struggles understand this well.
Over the years, we’ve tried in many ways to support Annie and help her find stability, following professional advice on how to be supportive without enabling harmful behaviors. To give a sense of our efforts, we have given her monthly financial support, directly paid her bills, covered her rent, helped her find employment opportunities, attempted to get her medical help, and have offered to buy her a house through a trust (so that she would have a secure place to live, but not be able to sell it immediately). Via our late father’s estate, Annie receives monthly financial support, which we expect to continue for the rest of her life.
Despite this, Annie continues to demand more money from us. In this vein, Annie has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, and especially Sam. We’ve 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.
Over the years, she has accused members of our family of improperly withholding our father’s 401k funds, hacking her Wi-Fi, and ‘shadowbanning’ her from various websites, including ChatGPT, Twitter, and more. The worst allegation she has made is that she was sexually abused by Sam as a child (she has also claimed instances of sexual abuse from others). Her claims have evolved drastically over time. Newly for this lawsuit, they now include allegations of incidents where Sam was over 18.
All of these claims are utterly untrue. This situation causes immense pain to our entire family. It is especially gut-wrenching when she refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help.
We ask for understanding and compassion from everyone as we continue to support Annie in the best way we can. We sincerely hope she finds the stability and peace she’s been searching for.”
— Connie, Sam, Max, and Jack
Ann has yet to release a statement responding to the Altman family’s statement. However, in October 2024, she tweeted about her mental health issues on X (formerly Twitter):
“I too was recently diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, also hEDS.
I’ve had a very different experience receiving support. I started sex work while houseless and having my dead dad’s money in my name withheld from me.
And having all sorts of comments made about my mental health and more, by abusers I went no contact with in 2020.”
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a rare, inherited group of disorders that affect connective tissues, which support the skin, bones, blood vessels, and other organs and tissues.
Recent large-scale studies have suggested that patients with EDS have a higher risk of mood disorders than the general population. Other cohort studies indicate a high prevalence of anorexia nervosa, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders among patients with EDS.
The filing in the Eastern District of Missouri alleges that Ann has suffered physical injuries, as well as “PTSD, severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and depression” due to her brother’s alleged abuse.
