Scarlett Johansson said she had declined an offer to voice ChatGPT, then objected after hearing its Sky voice because it sounded “eerily similar” to her. OpenAI said Sky was voiced by a different actor and was never intended to resemble Johansson. The public record establishes a dispute over perceived similarity and consent—not that her voice was copied or that a court found wrongdoing.
What happened between Johansson and OpenAI?
The clearest account of the events comes from OpenAI’s published explanation, so its dates and behind-the-scenes details should be understood as the company’s account. The Associated Press independently reported the public statements and the halt in Sky’s use.
| Date | Event | What is established |
|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2023 | OpenAI says a casting call went out for ChatGPT voices. | OpenAI says it received more than 400 submissions in under a week; the number is the company’s own figure, not an independently audited count. (OpenAI) |
| September 11, 2023 | OpenAI says CEO Sam Altman spoke with Johansson and her team about her potentially joining as a sixth voice. | OpenAI’s account. |
| About a week later | OpenAI says Johansson declined through her agent. | OpenAI’s account; Johansson later said she declined the offer for personal reasons. (AP) |
| September 25, 2023 | OpenAI says Breeze, Cove, Ember, Juniper and Sky launched in ChatGPT. | OpenAI’s account. |
| May 10, 2024 | OpenAI says Altman’s team again asked Johansson’s team whether she might reconsider. | OpenAI’s account. Johansson separately said her agent was contacted two days before the GPT-4o demo. |
| May 13, 2024 | OpenAI introduced GPT-4o. | OpenAI’s account of the sequence. |
| May 15, 2024 | OpenAI says it began discussing Johansson’s concerns with her team. | OpenAI’s account. |
| May 19, 2024 | OpenAI says it paused Sky in its products. | OpenAI’s account; AP reported the pause. This announcement does not establish Sky’s availability today. |
| May 20, 2024 | Johansson’s objection and Altman’s response were reported publicly. | AP’s contemporaneous report. |
What Johansson said
Johansson said she turned down an earlier offer to provide a ChatGPT voice for personal reasons. She said she was shocked after hearing the GPT-4o demonstration because Sky sounded “eerily similar” to her. She also said Altman contacted her agent two days before the demonstration to ask her to reconsider, and that her lawyers wrote to Altman and OpenAI asking how Sky’s voice had been created. Her statement is reproduced in a California Assembly background paper, and AP reported on her objection and the legal letters. (AP; California Assembly background paper)
The distinction matters: Johansson’s reported objection was to Sky’s perceived resemblance and the way the situation unfolded. The available statements do not show that she issued a general, documented instruction barring OpenAI from using any voice that might sound like hers.
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How OpenAI responded
OpenAI said Sky was voiced by a different professional actor using her natural speaking voice, and that the actor had been cast before OpenAI approached Johansson. It said the voice was not intended to resemble Johansson and that it paused Sky after she raised concerns. OpenAI declined to identify the actor, saying it wanted to protect her privacy. These are the company’s claims about its casting and production process; the underlying records are not included in the public accounts cited here. (OpenAI’s account)
Altman’s published response said: “The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.” That statement records OpenAI’s position; it is not an independent voice analysis.
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Why the “Her” comparison became part of the story
Johansson voiced Samantha, an AI assistant, in the 2013 film Her. AP reported that Altman posted “her” on X on the day GPT-4o was unveiled. The reference helped fuel public comparisons between Sky and Johansson’s film role, but the post does not by itself establish what Altman intended or prove that OpenAI sought to imitate her.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the public evidence does—and does not—show
The cited public accounts document the parties’ statements, OpenAI’s stated timeline and the pause announcement. They do not provide the recordings, casting or production records, a forensic comparison of Sky’s voice with Johansson’s, a court ruling, or a final legal resolution. That means it is accurate to report that Johansson said Sky sounded strikingly like her and that OpenAI disputed any intended resemblance. It is not established by these sources that OpenAI copied or cloned her voice, or that the pause proves wrongdoing.
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How performer consent fits in
A California Assembly background paper discusses broader risks of digital replicas of a performer’s face, body, voice, movement and identity. It also describes provisions in the 2023 SAG-AFTRA TV/Theatrical agreement addressing certain digital-replica uses, including clear, conspicuous consent in a separate writing with a reasonably specific description of intended use. That is industry and policy context, not a finding that the agreement governs the Sky dispute or determines Johansson’s legal rights in it. (California Assembly background paper)
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