How many times do you see Scarlett Johansson's face per week?
For me, I reckon it's at least once a day, whether it's plastered along the side of a bus promoting her latest film or on Instagram alongside products from her new skincare range.
And what about the way she speaks? Think about it, I bet you can imagine the exact tone of her voice right now – especially if you've seen the film Her, in which she voices an AI chatbot.
For actors in Scarlett's class, this exposure is an essential (if sometimes disconcerting) aspect of her celebrity – it's how she makes money. Sadly, it's apparently how everyone else makes their money, too.
The tech firm OpenAI has removed the new female voice from its artificial intelligence chatbot after the Lost in Translation star said she was “shocked, angered and in disbelief” about the voice, which sounded “eerily similar” to her own.
In a statement, Scarlett said that she declined an offer from Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, to voice the new ChatGPT 4.0 system. Instead, an unnamed actor was paid to create the voice of ‘Sky'.
Scarlett continued: “My friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named ‘Sky’ sounded like me.
“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference.”
The day the new voice was released, Altman posted on X, “her”, which many users interpreted as a reference to the aforementioned film Her, about a man who falls in love with an AI system, voiced by Scarlett.
One X user wrote: “Her' (2012) was meant as a grim dystopia, a cautionary tale of alienation by AI. Not as a business strategy for @OpenAI to impose on humanity.”
"I really got stuck in this."
Scarlett closed her statement by saying, “In a time when we are all grappling with deepfakes and the protection of our own likeness, our own work, our own identities, I believe these are questions that deserve absolute clarity.”
OpenAI confirmed that it was pausing the new voice “out of respect” while it addressed the questions Scarlett had posed.
In a post on X, the company linked to a blog that referenced how 400 voice actors had auditioned for the recording of ‘Sky’: “We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice – Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice,” it said, adding that “to protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents”.
“We spoke with each actor about the vision for human-AI voice interactions and OpenAI, and discussed the technology’s capabilities, limitations, and the risks involved, as well as the safeguards we have implemented.”
In a statement to Variety, Altman said, “The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.” He also said he was “sorry” that the company “didn't communicate better” with the actor.
We're calling on the government to take urgent action.
It's far from the first time Scarlett's likeness has, allegedly, been used without her consent.
In November 2023, she took legal action against an AI app that appeared to use her name and likeness in advert – without her consent. According to Variety, Scarlett appeared in a short video posted on X by an AI app called Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar.
Variety reported that the ad, which has since been deleted, included a disclaimer under the image of Scarlett, which said: “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.”
GLAMOUR has reached out to Lisa AI for a comment.
Scarlett Johansson has also spoken up about how deepfake pornography – in which real images of her are edited to appear sexually explicit – has impacted her over the years.
In 2019, it was widely reported that a fake video, described as “leaked” footage, of the actor had been watched on a major porn site more than 1.5 million times. This came after her private images were stolen and leaked in 2011. The hacker was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Her consent – AKA her right to her own body – has been violated again, and again.
She told The Washington Post, “Nothing can stop someone from cutting and pasting my image or anyone else’s onto a different body and making it look as eerily realistic as desired. There are basically no rules on the internet because it is an abyss that remains virtually lawless, withstanding US policies which, again, only apply here.”
While the legal landscape on image-based abuse has changed since 2019 – especially in the UK, where the creation of deepfakes is set to be criminalised after GLAMOUR's consent campaign – it's clear that women – famous or not – are still vulnerable to their image being used without their consent.
No one, including Scarlett Johansson, should have to fight to retain control over how their image and voice are used.
If you have had your intimate images shared without your consent, remember that you are not alone, and there is help available. Get in touch with the Revenge Porn Helpline at help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk.
There is also a step-by-step guide on notyourporn.com, which should be followed before taking any action.
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
