He may have been the voice of God, but he objects to other people imbuing him with that voice.
Morgan Freeman, 87, is getting a voice-over call on TikTok that uses artificial intelligence to imitate his iconic voice.
The Oscar-winning actor released a statement on social media, writing, “Thank you to my amazing fans for your vigilance and support in highlighting the unauthorized use of an AI voice impersonating me. Your dedication ensures that authenticity and honesty remain a top priority. Thank you,” and added the hashtags #AI #fraud #copycat #privacyprotection.
A TikTok account titled “Justin's Camera Roll” shared a video of a woman posing as Freeman's niece, saying in a voiceover, “Narrated by me, Morgan Freeman,” in a voice that sounds similar to Freeman's baritone voice, who is famous for narrating the nature documentary “Life on Our Planet” and playing the Voice of God in “Bruce Almighty.”
The creator later called the video an “obvious joke.”
The video depicts a day in the life of Freeman's “niece,” with “Justin begging for money, saying it would be a cultural experience in Spain,” and the clip shows the girl traveling around Spain.
The AI version continues: “She asked for my credit card, claiming it was just a little birthday activity. Imagine my surprise when she charged me for the yacht. In short, she embezzled.”
At the end of the video, the AI voice says, “Apparently she can't say no.” The TikTok user captioned the video, “Uncle Mo is busy with all his bookings but I finally got him to narrate my trip!… Embezzlement!?” and added the hashtag “#ai.”
Comments on the video made it clear that not all viewers realised the narrator was not actually Freeman.
“People on Twitter really think this is Morgan Freeman,” one person wrote, while another commented: “People don't know this is an AI 😭 we are doomed.”
Another viewer commented: “He's really funny,” appearing to think it was actually Freeman.
Freeman is the latest celebrity to have an AI impersonate him without his consent.
In January, AI-generated deepfake “porn” photos of Taylor Swift went viral on X (formerly Twitter).
In May, Marvel star Scarlett Johansson revealed she had refused to work with OpenAI after slamming the company's new ChatGPT feature, saying it sounded “eerie” like her own voice.
In June, Sheryl Crow called Drake “hateful” for using an AI-generated Tupac Shakur voice in her Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
In a follow-up video released on June 30, the creators defended their use of Freeman's AI voice, saying they were just having “a little fun.”
“I just thought it was funny, you know? … It's obviously a joke and people are being ignorant,” she added. “I thought it was obvious that this was a joke and now Uncle Mo's mad at me. If anyone on his team is watching this, I'm so sorry.”
