Warning: This article contains references to child sexual abuse.
Sam Altman is a pivotal figure in tech. The 39-year-old is the CEO of OpenAI who, for better or worse, is changing the way we use the internet. However, there is a dark side to his story.
Altman is in the headlines after Elon Musk dropped his lawsuit against him and his company, OpenAI. But this renewed moment in the spotlight has people wondering once again what happened with Sam’s sister, Annie Altman, who accused him of multiple kinds of abuse back in 2021.
What happened to Sam Altman’s sister?
In Nov. 2021, Annie Altman posted a series of allegations against her brothers Sam and Jack Altman on X (then Twitter). “I experienced sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, financial, and technological abuse from my biological siblings, mostly Sam Altman and some from Jack Altman,” she wrote.
Annie said she believes there are other victims. “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,” she added in another tweet.
Not much seemed to result from these allegations. Annie added more fuel to the fire in March 2023, when she posted another tweet about the abuse. “I’m not four years old with a 13-year-old “brother” climbing into my bed non-consensually anymore. (You’re welcome for helping you figure out your sexuality),” she wrote. Annie also added she had finally accepted that, seemingly Sam, will always be more scared of her than she ever was of him.
Elon Musk joined the controversy in November last year, when he responded to Ashley St. Clair’s post. The latter claimed everyone ran headlines about “Russell Brand being a predator,” but no one was reporting about the allegations from Sam Altman’s sister, Annie. “Russell is perceived as a threat to the establishment media, but Sam is not,” Musk responded.
The wider media even seems reluctant to write about these allegations. In Sept. 2023, Sam Altman spoke with NY Mag about his past. He went into detail regarding many things, like starting the business, learning self-confidence, and growing up, but not a single mention of Annie’s allegations appears in the article.
Instead, Sam said how Annie had issues, especially after their father died in 2018. However, the article also mentions how Annie had problems with anxiety as far as when she was a little kid. “At age five, she began waking up in the middle of the night, needing to take a bath to calm her anxiety. By six, she thought about suicide, though she didn’t know the word,” it states.
The author also met with Annie last summer. Apparently, she had asked Sam and their mother for financial help in 2019, which they refused. “I was just at such a loss, in such a state of desperation, such a state of confusion and grief. […] I was like, ‘Why? Why are these people not helping me when they could at no real cost to themselves?'”
Later on, Sam offered to buy Annie a house. But the latter didn’t want to be controlled, so she refused. Due to financial and health problems, she began doing sex work, which she does to this day.
In October 2023, Annie addressed the case once more, repeating she was molested in multiple ways. She also wrote how she’s “uninterested in legal action around experiences between a baby child and a tween child.” Instead, she was interested in space for her story, “freedom from gaslighting,” and “relevant discussions on consensual use with all technology.”
What is Annie up to now?
In November 2023, Annie Altman shared a post named “How We Do Anything is How We Do Everything” on her website, All Humans Are Human. In the post, she outlined how she was raised in the narrative of “Annie is crazy,” and “Annie doesn’t know how to take care of herself.”
Annie claimed many people told her privately they support her, but were afraid to speak up publicly. Additionally, she has apparently been a victim of hacker attacks since cutting her contact with her relatives in 2020.
“Since going no contact from my living relatives in 2020, my literal and virtual life continue to be extremely restricted. I’ve had multiple accounts get hacked. My podcast ratings and YouTube views seemed to be removed. My presence seems difficult to find on Google,” she wrote.
Furthermore, she and her mother and brother attempted family therapy in early 2020. However after two sessions, the therapist themselves apparently advised Annie to go for the “no contact” approach. That was also at the time when Annie was managing PCOS and Achilles tendinopathy, which seriously restricted her movement abilities. She also added she was still grieving their dad at the time.
She also detailed how she quit her job to heal, because of being told about the money left to her by her dad. But, as it later turned out, her mother blocked the money until Annie was in her 60s, since she was the primary beneficiary of his 401K. She also explained that she felt the offer to buy her a house by her sibling “was another attempt at control.”
In Feb. 2024, Annie shared screenshots of an email she received allegedly from Sam in Sept. 2023. In it, the latter apologized for his actions and asked “for forgiveness or something.” He also admitted he should have supported her, but allowed their mother to “drive decisions as the parent.”
Since then, the allegations seemed to have once again gone quiet. In April, Annie released “HumAnnie Grief Poems,” that were prompted by her stages of grief. She continues to be active on her two X accounts, @anniealtman108 and @phuckfilosophy, has continued her sex work, and shares posts about Sam Altman’s controversial moves.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.