Sorry, Morgan Freeman is not narrating that viral TikTok video

• July 1, 2024

Morgan Freeman’s celebrated baritone has been repurposed for projects the actor has not approved, and he is not happy about it. Freeman called out those unauthorized artificial intelligence-fueled voice clones in a post on X, thanking supporters for alerting him and his management about where AI-replicated versions of his voice have appeared. 

“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me,” Freeman posted, adding hashtags such as “#scam,” “#imitation,” and “#IdentityProtection.”

Though Freeman doesn’t cite it specifically, his post is likely a reference to a new video in a viral TikTok series where an ersatz version of his voice narrates the activities of his “niece,” TikTok user @justinescameraroll, known as Justine. 

@justinescameraroll
♬ water (instrumental) – no/vox & karaokey

Her “Day in the Life of a Nepo Niece” videos have collectively amassed over one million views from her 218,6,000 TikTok and 123,000 Instagram followers. She captioned her most recent post, which has the voice clone of Freeman narrating, with, “Uncle Mo has been booked and busy, but I finally got him to narrate my trip!” A post of the video shared on X then reached 16.4 million people and may have prompted Freeman’s reaction based on the timing. 

Justine later confirmed in a follow-up video that her video did not feature Freeman’s real voice, adding, “I was just having a little bit of fun.”

Famous Fakes

The iconic nature of Freeman’s voice means there’s a lot of interest in imitating it for everything from the social media videos mentioned to full film narrations. ElevenLabs made a voice specifically designed to imitate Freeman. For instance, though the documentary “The Power of Chi” lists Freeman as the narrator, and it’s on IMDB that way, Freeman has never even mentioned it. Plus, his voice in the film sounds more than a little off, as you can hear in the link. He might just be phoning it in for a paycheck from the obscure documentary, or it might be AI.

Freeman is far from alone among celebrities concerned about how AI-created versions of their face or voice might be used without their permission. In May, actress Scarlett Johansson voiced her anger upon discovering an OpenAI chatbot that sounded disturbingly similar to her voice. Johansson, who played an AI assistant in the 2013 film Her, found the situation particularly unsettling. OpenAI responded by announcing plans to discontinue the use of the ChatGPT voice that resembled Johansson’s, though without admitting any fault.

The same goes for videos, which use deepfakes of celebrities to try and trick people into thinking the famous person endorsed the scam. Tom Hanks has had to alert fans about a deepfake video of himself on social media. So has trusted British consumer advice guide Martin Lewis, who warned of a deepfake video attempting to trick people into sending money for a scam investment.

The rapid advancement of AI has outpaced regulatory measures, leading to situations where individuals’ voices and likenesses can be replicated without consent. The concern over AI-generated imitations is not limited to actors. AI music creation startups Suno and Udio are facing a lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major music labels for copyright infringement.  

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Morgan Freeman’s celebrated baritone has been repurposed for projects the actor has not approved, and he is not happy about it. Freeman called out those unauthorized artificial intelligence-fueled voice clones in a post on X, thanking supporters for alerting him and his management about where AI-replicated versions of his voice…