Annie Altman has released video of the first hour of her deposition in her lawsuit accusing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman of sexual abuse, as the family battle enters a new public phase after her lawyers withdrew from the case.
Annie Altman originally sued her brother in 2025, alleging sexual abuse. A judge dismissed her civil lawsuit, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in 2008. Annie then filed an amended complaint in St. Louis federal court in April 2026, keeping the case alive. As reported by Reuters and The Independent, Sam Altman filed a defamation counterclaim against his sister, seeking just $1 in damages. He said he did not want to "harm his sister financially" and wanted the court to determine that the allegations she made about him were false. The counterclaim concerns social media posts Annie made between 2021 and 2024 in which she discussed alleged sexual abuse without directly naming Sam, in some cases referring to being "touched by older siblings."
Sam, his mother and his brothers issued a joint statement saying they "love" Annie and were "concerned about her well-being." They said they had tried to support her in "many ways" over the years — including monthly financial support, directly paid bills, covered rent, help finding employment, attempted medical help and an offer to buy her a house through a trust — but that she continued to demand more money before making "deeply hurtful" and "entirely untrue" allegations against Sam. "Via our late father's estate, Annie receives monthly financial support, which we expect to continue for the rest of her life," the statement added.
Her lawyers subsequently withdrew from the case, citing "an unfortunate general breakdown in the attorney-client relationship" between them and Annie, Reuters reported. Annie has continued to stand by her allegations, and the release of the deposition video drew renewed attention to the dispute.
The case has cast a shadow over the OpenAI chief executive, one of the most powerful figures in the global technology industry, at a moment when his company sits at the center of the artificial intelligence boom. Altman has denied the allegations in full.
The lawsuit has unfolded against the backdrop of OpenAI's extraordinary rise. Under Sam Altman's leadership, the company became the most valuable private technology firm in the world, and Altman himself became one of the most recognizable executives on the planet. The family dispute has remained largely separate from the company's business, but it has periodically surfaced in coverage of Altman's leadership, a reminder that even the architects of the AI era carry complicated personal histories.