OpenAI boss Sam Altman denies sister's sexual abuse accusations

Ann Altman, the sister of ChatGPT founder Sam Altman, filed a lawsuit accusing him of regularly sexually abusing her between 1997 and 2006.

The lawsuit, filed Jan. 6 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleges the abuse began when she was 3 years old and Mr. Altman was 12.

Mr Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, the company behind the artificial intelligence (AI) software ChatGPT, denied the claims In a joint statement with his mother and two brothers regarding.

“All of these claims are completely untrue,” the statement said. “Caring for a family member facing mental health challenges is extremely difficult,” it added.

WARNING: This story contains some potentially distressing details.

Mr Altman said he provided monthly financial support to his sister, paid her bills and rent and offered to buy her a house, but she “continued to ask for more money from us”.

But according to a court document seen by the BBC, Ms Altman claims her brother “groomed and manipulated” her into performing sexual acts on her for years, including “raping, sexually assaulting, molesting, Sodomy and beating.”

Ms Altman said she suffered “serious physical injuries”, severe emotional distress and depression.

She added that she had significant medical bills due to medical and mental health treatment for her injuries.

In the UK, victims or alleged victims of sex crimes have the right to lifelong anonymity. The British legislation that created this right does not apply to Americans.

“Over the years we have tried to support Anne in many ways and help her find stability,” Mr Altman said, adding that he had taken “professional advice” on how to “provide support” without “encouraging harmful behaviour” “.

“This situation has caused our entire family tremendous distress,” the statement added.

The suit adds that the last alleged incident of abuse occurred when Mr. Altman was an adult and she was a minor.

Ms. Altman has previously made similar accusations against her brother on social media platforms such as X.

Billionaire Mr Altman, who married his partner Oliver Mulherin in 2024, is one of the most high-profile figures in the technology world.

In late 2022, OpenAI launched the ChatGPT generative AI chatbot. It has been widely used around the world due to its ability to create computer code, emails, recipes and many other forms of text as well as images based on prompts.

In 2024, Mr. Altman returns as the boss of OpenAI Just days after he was fired by the boardsurvived a boardroom coup.

Additional reporting by Lily Jamali and Faarea Masud

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