OpenAI CEO mocked for 'tantrum' over rival's Super Bowl ad
Mediaweek
Post on X (@sama) answering Anthropic's Super Bowl ads
“But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. Our most important principle for ads says that we won't do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that”
Sam Altman4 February 2026- What you'll lose0/5
Nothing taken.
- Condescension3/5
'We are not stupid.'
- Tone-deafness3/5
About 420 words in reply to a joke.
- Doom0/5
None.
- Hypocrisy4/5
Ads he once called a 'last resort' and 'uniquely unsettling'.
Full time10 pitchforksof a possible 25
Think the referee got a count wrong?
Call received. VAR is having a look: the referee reviews every call, and the score stands until then.
The occasion
Post on X (@sama) answering Anthropic's Super Bowl ads, 4 February 2026.
Context
Anthropic's Super Bowl spot joked about ads appearing in AI chatbots, which OpenAI had begun planning for ChatGPT. Altman replied with a roughly 420-word post that opened by calling the ads funny, then called them dishonest and accused Anthropic of wanting to control what others can do with AI.
Crowd reaction
Widespread criticism
Mediaweek reports X users called the post 'the digital equivalent of a toddler throwing a tantrum' and quotes X product head Nikita Bier: 'Never respond to playful humour with an essay.' SiliconANGLE notes a stream of replies calling Altman just as controlling and deceitful as he claims Anthropic is.