OpenAI fires VP of Safety for sexism, could it be related to 'adult mode'?

OpenAI fired its Vice President of Safety, Ryan Beiermeister, for allegedly engaging in sexism against a male colleague. Beiermeister himself denied the allegations.

Exclusive | OpenAI Executive Who Opposed 'Adult Mode' Fired for Sexual Discrimination - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-executive-who-opposed-adult-mode-fired-for-sexual-discrimination-3159c61b

Exclusive: OpenAI fired executive Ryan Beiermeister in January, citing sexual discrimination, after she opposed the planned AI erotica feature in ChatGPT, sources said https://t.co/1TCMTlG1Ya

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 11, 2026

OpenAI policy exec who opposed chatbot's 'adult mode' reportedly fired on discrimination claim | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/openai-policy-exec-who-opposed-chatbots-adult-mode-reportedly-fired-on-discrimination-claim/

OpenAI Safety VP Reportedly Fired for Sexual Discrimination Against Her Male Colleague
https://gizmodo.com/openai-safety-vp-reportedly-fired-for-sexual-discrimination-against-her-male-colleague-2000720468

While on leave, Beiermeister was fired from OpenAI in January 2026 after a male colleague accused him of sexism. Beiermeister himself told the Wall Street Journal, 'The allegation that I discriminated against anyone is false.'

One possible reason for the dismissal is an 'adult mode' that OpenAI plans to introduce in the first quarter of 2026, which will enable ChatGPT to generate erotic content.

ChatGPT has long restricted the content it generates, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a plan to relax the restrictions in October 2025. He indicated that he plans to allow adult content such as 'erotica.'

We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have…

— Sam Altman (@sama) October 14, 2025

However, Beiermeister, the creator of a 'peer mentorship' group for women working at OpenAI, was opposed to the adult mode.

Regarding Beiermeister's dismissal, OpenAI denied any connection to Adult Mode, saying, 'She made valuable contributions to OpenAI during her tenure. Her dismissal is unrelated to any issues she raised during her tenure.'

The OpenAI Wellbeing and AI Advisory Committee, which meets regularly within the company, also opposes the adult mode and is calling for a review of the plan.