OpenAI Fires Ryan Beiermeister, Vice President of Product Policy Amid Internal Dispute Over Planned ‘Adult Mode’ Feature: Report
OpenAI has fired Ryan Beiermeister, VP of Product Policy, following a sex discrimination claim by a male colleague. Beiermeister denies the allegation, which emerged amid her opposition to a planned "adult mode" for ChatGPT. The company maintains the dismissal was unrelated to her internal criticism regarding the upcoming erotica feature launch.
San Francisco, February 11: OpenAI has terminated Ryan Beiermeister, the company’s Vice President of Product Policy, following an allegation of sex discrimination made by a male colleague. The dismissal, which occurred in January, follows reports of internal friction regarding a proposed "adult mode" for ChatGPT.
Beiermeister, a former veteran of Meta and Palantir, has categorically denied the allegations. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, she described the claim that she discriminated against any individual as "absolutely false." OpenAI has maintained that the firing was unrelated to any policy disagreements raised during her tenure. xAI Exodus: Elon Musk’s AI Company Loses Half of Founding Team As Jimmy Ba, Yuhuai Wu Resign Along With Other Team Members.
OpenAI CEO Dispute Over Erotica Features
The termination coincided with internal debates over a new feature dubbed "adult mode." This planned update would allow the chatbot to generate erotica, marking a significant shift in OpenAI’s safety and content guidelines. The project is being overseen by Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications.
Simo has previously indicated that the feature is scheduled for launch within the first quarter of 2026. However, the move has reportedly met with resistance from within the policy team. Beiermeister and several colleagues raised concerns regarding the potential impact such content could have on specific user demographics and the broader safety profile of the platform.
OpenAI Corporate Response and Allegations
OpenAI confirmed the departure but stated that Beiermeister’s exit was not linked to her opposition to the "adult mode" project. The company noted that she had made valuable contributions during her time at the firm but cited the discrimination claim as the primary factor following an internal investigation.
Before joining OpenAI, Beiermeister spent seven years at Palantir and four years on the product team at Meta. Her departure highlights ongoing tensions within AI firms as they balance rapid commercial expansion with the ethical and safety implications of increasingly permissive content policies.
OpenAI Product Policy: Future Prospects
The introduction of adult-oriented content represents a pivot for OpenAI, which has historically maintained strict barriers against sexually explicit material. As the first quarter of the year progresses, the industry is watching how the company will implement these features while managing internal policy disputes. Yuhuai 'Tony' Wu, Co-Founder of xAI, Resigns and Thanks Elon Musk for Opportunity; Company Continues Hiring.
The company has not provided further details on the specific nature of the discrimination claim. While OpenAI continues to scale its consumer-facing products, the loss of a high-ranking policy executive underscores the complexities of navigating workplace culture alongside sensitive product development.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2026 03:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).