Morgan Freeman arguably has one of the most recognizable voices in Hollywood. The Oscar winning actor played the “voice of God” in the 2003 comedy “Bruce Almighty” opposite Jim Carrey.
But neither Freeman or fans could predict his iconic voice would prompt an idiotic question from late night talk show host. But that’s just what happened in a resurfaced clip circulating on social media, leaving some fans in disbelief and others fuming over the disrespect.
“Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?,” Jimmy Kimmel asked a confused looking Freeman during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in March 2016. “Is it something that you worked or just from your family?”
“I don’t even know what you mean,” Freeman replied. Kimmel followed up by referencing Freeman’s work on the 1970’s children’s television series “The Electric Company” before the talk show host eventually quit trying to explain what he meant by the initial question.
“I went to school to study how to be an actor,” Freeman said with a slightly agitated look on his face. “And in that school, Los Angeles City College, I had a voice and diction instructor who was very good at his job. So you had to learn to speak and sound your final consonants.”
Kimmel, a graduate of the University of Nevada and Arizona State responded, “So you actually learned something in college? I learned how to drink beer out of a funnel.”
As the clip made its rounds across social media once again, fans agreed that Freeman’s “voice is recognizable for everyone in the world.” But many were outraged by Kimmel’s questioning.
“Would you he ask as white person that (question),” one person wrote in the comment section on Instagram.
“That voice is recognizable for everyone in the world,” another commentator noted.
Referring to Kimmel directly, two social media users asked, “Is anyone else finding the host condescending and offensive?” and “Did Jimmy Kimmel just complement a black man for being articulate?”
A third joked, “Jimmy didn’t put his blackface on for the interview.” A fourth said, “White people and their silly ass questions smh, why did i even come here ffs?”
However, a handful were understanding of Kimmel’s question to Freeman, writing, “He’s got a convincing voice that draws the listeners attention. Let’s put it that way. The way he pronounces and annunciates his wording and how’s it pulls you in is what makes it so special.”
Later in the appearance the “Driving Miss Daisy” star put his well-known narrating skills to the test by providing hilarious commentary on random passerbys walking down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
In 2016, Freeman’s universally recognized voice was added to the popular Google-back navigation app Waze as part of the promotion rollout for the action film “London Has Fallen,” which he starred in.
Freeman has been questioned about his voice in the past. During a 2007 appearance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” the “March of the Penguins” credited a voice coach for helping him develop his soothing voice.
“No, no, no, no,” Freeman replied when asked if his voice was something he was simply born with. “It’s not a natural gift at all. I don’t think any voice is a natural gift. Someone helps you get it.”
He added that his natural voice was too “high” because of his “very thick Southern accent. I was raised in Mississippi.”
Freeman’s popular voice was also the subject of controversy in early July 2024. 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.”
The 87-year-old actor caught wind of the video and 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 on June 28, the, along with the hashtags #AI #scam #imitation #IdentityProtection.
The social media user later made it clear that the video was made in jest.
“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!”
