Playwright Confronts OpenAI CEO at Oscars Party

Jeremy O. Harris accused Sam Altman of being the 'Goebbels of the Trump administration' at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

Mar. 17, 2026 at 11:27pm

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Famed playwright Jeremy O. Harris drunkenly confronted AI mogul Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, at the star-studded Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday night. Harris accused Altman of being the 'Goebbels of the Trump administration' over OpenAI's new deal with the Department of War. Altman responded calmly to the outburst.

Why it matters

The confrontation highlights the growing backlash against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over the company's controversial deal with the Pentagon to provide its AI technology for classified government systems. The move has sparked intense criticism, including from OpenAI employees.

The details

According to Page Six, the incident occurred amidst a crowd of A-list celebrities at the exclusive Vanity Fair Oscar party. Harris, the acclaimed playwright behind 'Slave Play', reportedly made a beeline for Altman and confronted him about the OpenAI-Pentagon deal. Harris initially accused Altman of being the 'Goebbels of the Trump administration', but later clarified that he should have said 'Friedrich Flick', a German industrialist with ties to the Nazi party.

  • The incident occurred on Sunday night at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

The players

Jeremy O. Harris

A famed playwright known for his work 'Slave Play', which received a record-setting 12 Tony nominations in 2020.

Sam Altman

The CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. Altman was recently ranked as the most influential Jew in the world by the Jerusalem Post in 2023.

OpenAI

An artificial intelligence company that recently signed a deal with the Pentagon to provide its AI technology for classified government systems, sparking intense backlash.

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What they’re saying

“It was late and I had a few too many martinis so I misspoke when I said Goebbels... I should've said Friedrich Flick.”

— Jeremy O. Harris, Playwright

What’s next

The backlash against OpenAI's Pentagon deal is expected to continue, with further protests and employee resignations possible.

The takeaway

This incident underscores the growing tensions between the tech industry, particularly AI companies like OpenAI, and those who are concerned about the potential misuse of powerful technologies by the government and military.