Scarlett Johansson has slammed an AI-generated video in which a likeness of her appears with other celebrities condemning Kanye West.
The deepfake video included AI generated images of several pop culture figures, including Johansson, sporting “Fuck Kanye” t-shirts days after the rapper was banned from X after posting a series of anti semitic statements.
Last week (February 7), West returned to X and began by voicing his support for Diddy and Chris Brown, and urged for the former to be released from prison amid sexual abuse allegations.
His X posts grew increasingly more concerning as he began to claim “dominion” over his wife Censori before going on to withdraw his apology to the Jewish community for past anti-Semitic comments, as well as declaring himself as “a Nazi” and a slew of other demeaning posts that targeted several communities.
After this, West later directed followers to his site, where a single item was on sale – a white t-shirt with a large swastika on the chest listed as “HH-01”. The site has since been taken down, and Kanye’s X account has been deactivated.
In protest, a deepfake AI video was shared on social media with the caption “enough is enough”. The viral clip featured the likeness of Mark Zuckerberg, Drake, David Schwimmer, Jerry Seinfeld, Ben Stiller and more sporting a white t-shirt with the Star of David in the middle of a middle finger emblem and Kanye’s name written beneath it.
Now, Johannson has responded to the video describing it as “terrifying” and decrying the “misuse of AI”.
“Enough is enough.”
Kanye West.
Make this go viral.pic.twitter.com/eqCmQNksn2
— Vivid.
(@VividProwess) February 11, 2025
Johansson said in a statement: “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
She continued: “I have unfortunately been a very public victim of AI…but the truth is that the threat of AI affects each and every one of us. There is a 1000-foot wave coming regarding AI that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the U.S. government is paralysed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI.”
Johansson concluded: “I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”
Johannson has previously been a victim of AI and last year opened up about her disagreement with company OpenAI after they allegedly used a voice similar to hers for a new ChatGPT system.
The actor claimed that when she heard the system’s new voice option, named ‘Sky’, she and her friends and family noticed a similarity between their voices. As a result, she complained to OpenAI, and the voice option was removed.
Speaking at the release of her film Fly Me To The Moon last summer, Johansson said: “We’re all waiting and supporting the passing of legislation to protect everybody’s individual rights,” she said (via Sky News). “This highlights how vulnerable everybody is to [AI] and how little protection people do have – if any – of their work in their likeness,” she added.
Johansson claimed that on top of noticing similarities between the voices, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, insinuated the use of Johansson’s voice by tweeting the word ‘her’. The actor interpreted this be a reference to the film Her, in which she plays a chatbot who is the love interest of Joaquin Phoenix’s character.
She also claimed that she had been approached by Altman prior to the release of the ChatGPT system, asking if she would consider voicing one of its ‘Voice Mode’ options. After she declined the offer, Johansson claims that Altman contacted her agent, asking her to reconsider. She claims that “before we could connect, the system was out there.”
OpenAI have since removed the ‘Sky’ option, but deny that it is based on Johannson’s voice. Altman said about the situation: “The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers.
“We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson. Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn’t communicate better.”
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