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Consider this scenario. A sorcerer climbs 20 foot up a tree and gets surprised by a large snake. The snake misses, and then the sorcerer wins initiative and decides to let go of the tree branches. This results in the sorcerer falling to the ground and taking damage.
Does the snake get an opportunity attack?
Player handbook section on Opportunity Attacks says (pg 195):
You also don't provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action or reaction. For example, you don't provoke an opportunity attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe's reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy.
(Emphasis mine)
From this I'd say letting go is being moved without using the sorcerer's movement, they don't need to turn their back on the snake or focus on moving themselves. The specific example given is a person falling past an enemy (into and out in one fall, as I read it) so granted they would probably be moving faster but I'd still say that no, falling doesn't cause an opportunity attack.
The language of an object interaction in the PHB seems important here: "You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action" (p.190). The object interaction, while not costing your action or movement, does happen as part of them (which is important so that someone who's paralyzed can't open a door for example, since incapacitate doesn't specify anything about free actions). This means that the condition for AoO exempt movement, "something moves you without using your movement, action or reaction" is not met, and an AoO can be taken.
Combined with the fact that the AoO section specifically says "an explosion hurls you out of a foe's reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy." It says "out of reach" for one and "past" for the other, makes me think you would in fact provoke an opportunity attack in this situation.
