Morgan Freeman — who was the voice of God in the 2003 comedy “Bruce Almighty” — has one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood.
That’s why a content creator named Justine shared videos online claiming to be one of Freeman’s relatives, specifically his “nepo niece,” using his voice.
The woman used an artificial intelligence-generated version of his iconic voice in a since-deleted video posted on her “Justine’s Camera Roll” page. At one point, a voiceover says, “Narrated by me, Morgan Freeman.”
On June 28, the 87-year-old actor thanked fans who sounded the alarm after the woman falsely used his voice to convince social media fans they were related.
“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me. Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful,” Freeman wrote in a social media post, along with the hashtags #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection.
Over the years, Freeman has lent his distinctive voice to multiple documentaries as wel as serving as the narrator in “The Long Way Home” in 1997 and the critically acclaimed sports drama “Million Dollar Baby” in 2003. Given the distinguished career Freeman has built, he appears to not be fond of any efforts to mimic his iconic voice.
Artificial intelligence has introduced many advantages, including helping companies and individuals in a variety of industries takes leaps in productivity. But, there is also a downside to the technology as bad actors used it to power their unscrupulous behavior. Access to AI increased significantly since OpenAI’s ChatGPT was released the general public in November 2022.
Following Freeman’s response, fans are happy he spoke, considering many assumed it was his real voice.
“Wait, the one where it was supposed to be your neice? I’ve been telling old people all about that as if it were real,” wrote one person on X.
Another who suggested he get representation wrote, “Here I am hoping you have excellent lawyers for your estate, voice, image.”
A third wrote, “Thanks for posting the truth about the imitation. Out of curiosity this one quote is credited to you “Just because I disagree with you doesn’t mean I hate you. We need to relearn that in our society”, did you say this or was it just an internet meme. Thanks!”
But one individual suggested he should be used to this, writing, “Face it Mr. @morgan_freeman – your voice will be one of the A.I. top 10 (along with #JamesEarlJones & #SamElliot) for decades.”
The AI-powered version of the “The Shawshank Redemption” actor’s voice proceeds to narrate a day in the life of Freeman’s assumed “niece.”
“Justine begged for money for what she said would be a cultural experience in Spain,” Freeman’s voice can be heard saying, as the woman seemingly tours parts of Spain – which was also likely AI-generated.
“She asked for my credit card to book what she claimed was a little activity for her birthday. Imagine my surprise when I was charged for a yacht. Basically, she embezzled,” the clip continued.
The social media user captioned the video, “Uncle Mo has been booked and busy, but I finally got him to narrate my trip! … EMBEZZELED!?” along with the hashtag #ai.
The TikTok user followed up the controversial post by sharing a video saying she was simply joking.
“When I posted this video on TikTok, it had maybe 30,000 views. Somebody took that and posted it on Twitter and it had 16 million views!….” Jasmine explained in a video posted days later on June 30. “I was having a little bit of fun. I just thought it would funny okay!”
“I thought that it was very obvious that this was a joke. And now Uncle Mo is upset with me. If anyone from his team is watching, I am so sorry.”
She concluded her post saying, “Please no cease and desist,” before plugging her playlist of more videos.
Some social media users supported Jasmine’s creativity, including one that said, “It was hilarioussssss I love it.”
However, others were critical of anyone who may have been duped by the AI-generated video. “People not knowing this is AI we’re doomed,” one person declared.
“They’re on Twitter thinking this is really Morgan Freeman,” another social media user pointed out.
On a personal level, the social media influencer did appear to benefit from the viral moment. On June 24, she shared a one minute video of her meeting the CEO of TikTok.
Other Hollywood stars have expressed their frustrations with AI. In May, actress Scarlett Johansson took issue with a ChatGPT feature that she argued sounded “eerily similar” to her voice.
