OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been accused of sexual abuse by his sister Ann Altman. Ann has filed a lawsuit alleging that she has faced abuse for nearly a decade, between 1997 and 2006. According to reports, the lawsuit is requesting a jury trial and damages in excess of $75,000.
Ann claimed the abuse, which allegedly includes rape, began when she was three, and Sam was 12 and that the last instance allegedly took place when Sam was an adult and she was still a minor.
The lawsuit also claimed that “as a direct and proximate result of the foregoing acts of sexual assault”, the plaintiff has experienced “severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and depression, which is expected to continue into the future”.
Sam, along with his brothers Max and Jack and his mother Connie, took to X to issue a statement. “All of these claims are utterly untrue. This situation causes immense pain to our entire family,” it stated. “It is especially gut-wrenching when she refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help.”
The family also claimed that they were “concerned about Ann’s mental health”, and despite providing the support, she has continued to demand more money. “In this vein, Annie [Ann] has made deeply hurtful and entirely untrue claims about our family, and especially Sam,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, as revealed by Sam, Ann’s lawyer wrote to his counsel, “Given our client’s tort claims involve sexual assault and sexual battery, we are allowed to seek punitive damages in this case under Missouri law. This means we will be allowed to seek discovery on Sam Altman’s net worth and present Sam Altman’s net worth to the jury for consideration on a punitive damages award.”
While Ann has accused Sam and her brother Jack over the years, this is the first time she seems to have taken the legal route. A few years ago, she said on X, “I experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and technological abuse from my biological siblings, mostly Sam Altman and some from Jack Altman.”
“I feel strongly that others have also been abused by these perpetrators. I’m seeking people to join me in pursuing legal justice, safety for others in the future, and group healing,” Ann had written in an X post in 2021.
She also alleged numerous forms of abuse, including sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, pharmacological, technological, and psychological.
According to the family statement, Ann previously accused them of “improperly withholding her father’s 401k funds, hacking her wifi, and ‘shadowbanning’ her from various websites, including ChatGPT and X”.
In June last year, a leading media publication reached out to the family in a podcast series. “Navigating the balance between providing support without enabling self-destructive behaviour for a family member with mental health struggles is extraordinarily difficult. We only want the best for Annie and hope everyone will treat her with compassion,” Connie had said.
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