OpenAI has reportedly fired one of its top safety and policy leaders, Ryan Beiermeister, after internal disagreements over the company’s plan to roll out an adult mode in ChatGPT. The company said her termination was linked to allegations of sexual discrimination against a male colleague, a claim she has strongly denied.
Beiermeister, who served as Vice President leading OpenAI’s product policy team, was let go in early January after a leave of absence, reports WSJ. Her team was responsible for setting rules around how users can interact with OpenAI’s products and designing systems to enforce those rules. Responding to the allegation, Beiermeister said, ‘The allegation that I discriminated against anyone is absolutely false.’
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An OpenAI spokeswoman said Beiermeister ‘made valuable contributions during her time at OpenAI, and her departure was not related to any issue she raised while working at the company.’
Her exit came ahead of OpenAI’s planned launch of a new mode that would allow adult users to create AI erotica in ChatGPT. The feature is expected to permit sexual and adult-themed conversations for users above a certain age. However, the plan has sparked concern inside the company.
Some researchers at OpenAI reportedly warned that allowing sexual content could deepen unhealthy emotional attachments that some users already form with AI chatbots. Members of an advisory council focused on ‘well-being and AI’ also expressed opposition to the feature and urged the company to rethink its decision. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has defended the move, saying it is part of an effort to ‘treat adult users like adults.’
Before her termination, Beiermeister had shared concerns with colleagues. She reportedly worried that the adult mode could harm users and questioned whether OpenAI’s systems were strong enough to block child exploitation content. She also raised doubts about the company’s ability to fully prevent teens from accessing adult material.
Beiermeister joined OpenAI in mid-2024 after working at Meta and later launched a peer mentorship program for women at the company in early 2025.