Voice cloning targets Morgan Freeman

As well as his acting roles, Morgan Freeman is well known for his voiceover work.

Who wouldn’t want the guy who has played presidents and many beloved movie characters to do their VO.

Freeman, who has a net worth of $250 million, makes about $10 million per film. For narrating the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins he earned about $1 million, and for his Visa Debit Card commercials he reportedly earned between $1-2 million.

Such a recognisable voice as Freeman’s commands big bucks.

So it is worrying to Freeman that an AI voice clone has been doing the rounds on social media in posts from an influencer named Justine claiming to be his niece (she’s not).

The posts, which claim to be narrated by ‘Uncle Morgan,’ were seen by 16.4 million people. Justine has since taken down the posts but they are still available from people who have shared them.

On X, Morgan Freeman thanked his fans for alerting him to the theft of his voice:

“Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me. Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful.”

Voices are likely to be the next copyright battleground for VO artists as it gets much easier to clone voices of public figures using the latest free AI Tools. The new tools will also be available to hoaxers and scammers pretending to be someone known to their victims.