Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI ripped off her voice after she told the company not to use it in software

Actor Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman used a voice similar to hers for its artificial intelligence voice software despite declining his invitation for its use.

The response comes after OpenAI said it would pull its ChatGPT AI voice dubbed "Sky", which launched last week amid controversy over it sounding like Johansson's voice in the movie "Her."

Johansson said Altman approached her last September and then again two days before it announced ChatGPT-4o on May 13. The actor played the voice character in the film "Her" about a man who forms a relationship with an AI virtual assistant named Samantha.

"After much consideration and for personal reasons, I declined the offer," Johansson said in a statement to CNBC. "Nine months later, my friends, family and the general public all noted how much the newest system named 'Sky' sounded like me."

Altman tweeted the cryptic message "her" on the day OpenAI announced its new AI.

"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," Johansson's statement continued. "Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word 'her.'"

The actor wrote Monday that she has hired legal counsel. Johansson has sparred with large companies like Disney in the past. In 2021, Johansson and Walt Disney settled the breach of contract lawsuit the "Black Widow" actor brought against the studio.

"We've heard questions about how we chose the voices in ChatGPT, especially Sky," Microsoft-backed OpenAI posted on X on Monday.

"Sky's voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different