Academy Award-winning actor and Mississippi native Morgan Freeman is taking legal action against companies accused of using artificial intelligence to replicate his signature voice without permission, calling the practice both deceptive and exploitative.
“I’m a little PO’d, you know,” Freeman said in an interview with The Guardian. “I’m like any other actor: don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
Freeman, known for his iconic narration and decades-long career that’s included films such as “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Bruce Almighty,” said his legal team “has been very, very, very busy” pursuing those responsible for unauthorized AI imitations.
The actor who grew up in Greenwood also expressed concerns about the rise of fully digital performers, describing them as a threat to the authenticity and livelihood of real artists. Freeman pointed to Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated “virtual actor” created by production company Particle6 and marketed as a performer, despite having no human presence behind it.
“Nobody likes her because she’s not real, and that takes the part of a real person,” Freeman said. “The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.”
The dispute highlights growing tensions between Hollywood and AI developers as tools advance in creating convincing replicas of human voices and likeness. For Freeman, whose deep, resonant tone has become one of the most recognizable in film history, the issue is both professional and personal.
Freeman’s stance underscores an increasingly urgent conversation in the entertainment industry about ownership, ethics, and the rights of artists in the digital era, one that he insists will not be silenced by artificial voices.
