Scarlett Johansson today issues a statement accusing OpenAI of using its new ChatGPT voice assistant, ‘Sky,’ after the company approached her about the project. A statement shared on X by Bobby Allyn says that OpenAI first approached Johansson last fall, and she declines. Two days before the launch of GPT-4o, the company contacts her agent again, asking her to reconsider. When she does not respond, OpenAI goes ahead with the demo anyway. Sam Altman then tweets a single word—‘her’—in apparent reference to Johansson’s role in the film ‘Her,’ where she voiced an AI assistant. The statement says Johansson’s legal counsel sends OpenAI a letter asking for an explanation of how the ‘Sky’ voice was created, after which the company agrees to remove the voice.

On Hacker News, where the story quickly rises to the top of the front page with more than 1,500 points and 1,000 comments, users dissect the statement and draw parallels to previous controversies. One commenter summarizes what they call a ‘damning timeline,’ noting that OpenAI had already shipped the product with a cloned voice before Johansson had a chance to respond. Another user who says they ‘loved the Sky voice’ writes that the statement ‘changed my perspective,’ and that they were ‘angry it was ever there to begin with.’ Several commenters draw comparisons between Altman and Sam Bankman-Fried, arguing that Altman’s desire to be part of AI regulation is undermined by this behavior. The thread reflects a broader unease about the company’s ethics and Altman’s leadership, with some users questioning whether he should remain in charge.

The incident has reignited debates about consent and intellectual property in the age of generative AI. OpenAI has removed the voice from its product line.