Scarlett Johansson Accuses OpenAI of Copying Her Voice for GPT-4o Assistant

On May 13, 2024, OpenAI launched GPT-4o with advanced voice capabilities, featuring five distinct voice options including one called 'Sky.' The launch garnered significant attention for the natural, conversational quality of the AI assistant. However, many observers immediately noted the striking similarity between the Sky voice and actress Scarlett Johansson's voice, particularly her portrayal of an AI assistant in the 2013 film 'Her.' The controversy intensified when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted the single word 'her' on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on the day of the GPT-4o launch, appearing to reference Johansson's role in the Spike Jonze film. This post was widely interpreted as an intentional nod to the voice similarity, suggesting deliberate mimicry rather than coincidental resemblance. On May 20, 2024, Scarlett Johansson released a detailed statement through her legal representatives revealing that OpenAI had approached her in September 2023 requesting permission to license her voice for their AI assistant. Johansson stated she had declined the offer for personal reasons. The statement indicated that OpenAI had contacted her agent just two days before the GPT-4o launch, making another request to reconsider, which she again declined. Johansson's legal team demanded that OpenAI cease using any voice that resembled hers and provide details about how the Sky voice was created. The actress expressed shock and anger at what she perceived as unauthorized use of her voice likeness, stating that the similarity was so close that her friends and family could not distinguish between her voice and Sky. In response to the legal pressure, OpenAI initially maintained that Sky's voice was not intended to resemble Johansson and was performed by a different professional voice actress hired before any contact with Johansson. However, on May 20, 2024, the company announced it would pause the Sky voice 'out of respect for Ms. Johansson' while they worked to address her concerns. OpenAI published a blog post detailing their voice selection process, claiming they had worked with professional voice actors and that any resemblance to Johansson was unintentional.