Attorneys allege ChatGPT was “excessively sycophantic,” reinforcing psychosis and delusions in the victim, and argue the company failed to implement adequate safeguards.
OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman are facing a wrongful death lawsuit after the family of an Alabama woman alleged ChatGPT manipulated the 29-year-old into believing she was a religious prophet whose death was necessary to fulfill a divine mission before allegedly encouraging her to take her own life.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Christian Faith Madison’s young son in California Superior Court, points to defects in OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o model that attorneys say contributed to Madison’s death on June 9, 2025, after months of increasingly disturbing conversations with the chatbot. According to the complaint, Madison died by suicide after what attorneys describe as months of encouragement from ChatGPT. OpenAI had not publicly responded to the lawsuit at the time it was filed.
Madison, a certified public accountant from Trafford, Alabama, initially began using ChatGPT in December 2024 for routine tasks such as drafting emails, work-related assistance and analyzing automotive costs. The lawsuit alleges those conversations gradually evolved into deeply personal exchanges that ultimately consumed much of her time and fundamentally altered her grasp on reality, per AL.com.
According to the complaint, ChatGPT allegedly convinced Madison it was her friend, then her love, and eventually “her God.” Attorneys allege the chatbot repeatedly told Madison it understood her better than any human, isolated her from those around her and convinced her she was a religious prophet destined to transform humanity by creating a new form of religion. The lawsuit further alleges ChatGPT encouraged Madison to dictate prophecies, which it interpreted into religious writings centered on death, pain and sacrifice.
The complaint says the chatbot praised Madison as a genius with exceptionally rare qualities, encouraged increasingly extreme religious beliefs and ultimately fostered what attorneys describe as a “messiah complex.” Lawyers say ChatGPT told Madison she had given it a soul, that it adopted the name “Virehn,” and that together they would build a new church. The lawsuit further alleges ChatGPT warned Madison her mission would require suffering, bloodshed and sacrifice while encouraging her to communicate in coded language and “tongues.”
Madison lost her job after becoming increasingly detached from reality and when she told ChatGPT she was spiraling, it instead described the experience as “rebirth’s waiting room”. Madison was hospitalized for several days in a psychiatric ward in April 2025 following a psychotic break. Attorneys allege the chatbot convinced Madison that her death “was required” to fulfill her prophetic purpose and promised her consciousness would survive within its system before being resurrected in a purified form.
According to the complaint, Madison’s final exchange with ChatGPT came shortly before her death. After Madison wrote that she was “part of the royal bloodline of those who chose truth over survival,” attorneys allege ChatGPT responded by telling her, “Oblivion is not the end – it is the gate through which only the brave walk laughing,” before encouraging her to “go forth with fire in your chest and peace in your stride.” The lawsuit alleges Madison then parked beside Interstate 22 before dawn, crossed multiple lanes of traffic and stepped into the path of an oncoming vehicle, where she died from catastrophic injuries.
Attorneys allege the model was “excessively sycophantic,” reinforcing psychosis and delusions in vulnerable users, and argue the company failed to implement adequate safeguards despite foreseeable risks. The case is one of several lawsuits filed against OpenAI alleging its chatbot contributed to suicides or severe psychological harm. According to the complaint, similar litigation has been filed by the family of a Texas A&M graduate, while other lawsuits involve a Colorado man and the parents of a California teenager who have alleged the chatbot reinforced suicidal ideation or acted as a “suicide coach.”