this post was submitted on 23 May 2024
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Even if they hired an actress with a similar voice to train the AI to sound similar to Johansonn, celebrity impersonators have been doing that for (I'd guess) longer than recorded voice media has even existed. I'm having a hard time seeing why one is fine but the other isn't.
Edit: corrected bad spelling of her name.
I think the law says that neither is fine, in the context here. The law allows celebrity impersonators to engage in parody and commentary, but not to actually use their impersonation skills to endorse products, engage in fraud, and pretend to be that person being impersonated.
But this is just using a voice. It might even be their natural voice. I don't think there's fraud because it wasn't presented as Scarlett's voice. If it wasn't presented as not her voice, then maybe those other two would apply, though is allowing a service to use your voice the same as endorsement? Is it enough to sound like someone to be considered impersonating them?
This situation lands in a grey area where I can't endorse or condemn it. I mean, it would have been smarter to just use a different voice. Find a celebrity that would sign on or just use an unrecognisable voice. Ethical or not, and legal or not, it was stupid.
It was explicitly represented as her voice when he tweeted "Her" in relation to the product, referencing a movie which she voiced. It's not a legal grey area in the US. He sank his own ship here.