Entertainment
OpenAI Apologises To Johansson, Denies Voice Based On Her
OpenAI chief Sam Altman apologized Tuesday to Scarlett Johansson after the movie star said she was “shocked” by a new synthetic voice released by the ChatGPT-maker, but he insisted the voice was not based on hers.
At issue is “Sky,” a voice OpenAI featured last week in the release of its more humanlike GPT-4o artificial intelligence technology.
In a demo, Sky was at times flirtatious and funny, seamlessly jumping from one topic to the next, unlike most existing chatbots.
The technology — and sound of the voice — quickly drew similarities to the Johansson-voiced AI character in the 2013 film “Her.”
Altman has previously pointed to the Spike Jonze-directed movie — a cautionary tale about the future in which a man falls in love with an AI chatbot — as inspiration for where he would like AI interactions to go.
He furthered speculation last week with a single-word post on X, formerly Twitter, saying “her.”
“The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers,” Altman said in a statement on Tuesday in a response to the controversy.
“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.”
The statement came after Johansson on Monday expressed outrage, saying she was “shocked, angered, and in disbelief that Mr Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets couldn’t tell the difference.”
She said Altman had offered in September to hire her to work with OpenAI to create a synthetic voice, saying it might help people engaging with AI, but she declined.
Risk team disbanded
In a blogpost, the company explained that it began working to cast the voice actors in early 2023, “carefully considering the unique personality of each voice and their appeal to global audiences.”
Some of the characteristics sought were “a voice that feel timeless” and “an approachable voice that inspires trust,” the company said.
The five final actors were flown to San Francisco to record in June and July, it said, with their voices launched into ChatGPT last September.
“To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents,” OpenAI said.
“We believe that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice.”
So far in the AI frenzy, most tech giants have been reluctant to overly humanize chatbots and some observers expressed concern that OpenAI’s demo last week had gone too far.
Microsoft Vice President Yusuf Mehdi cautioned that AI “should not be human.”
“It shouldn’t breathe. You should be able to…understand (it) is AI,” he told AFP.
The Johansson dispute came just days after OpenAI admitted it disbanded a team devoted to mitigating the long-term dangers of artificial intelligence.
OpenAI began dissolving the so-called “superalignment” group weeks ago, integrating members into other projects and research.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has sparked controversy after declaring herself “a Jesus baby.”
The Crazy Tings crooner made the declaration while responding to a question about her zodiac sign in an interview with The People Gallery at the 2025 Fashion Awards.
“Oh, I’m a Jesus baby. My sign is love, peace and joy,” she said.
This earned Tems backlash after a clip of the interview went viral on social media, with critics chastising her for associating herself with Jesus despite being a secular artist.
Read some of the reactions on X below: xm_muva wrote: “She [Tems] makes worldly music and shakes her fine ass on stage to the entire world. Christians are hypocrites lol. Y’all think your religion is a buffet, bro. Be free, ah?”
Phena95 opined: “Jesus or Christianity is not an aesthetic; it’s not just about love, joy and peace. Repentance as well.”
Chocodilish wrote: “Add some personality to your music, this Jesus baby bllsht is killing your brand abeg.”
max_sticks said: “It’s funny when I see believers attacking her [Tems] for doing too much. Your identity is Christ and not one useless zodiac sign, please.”
Gigialwashere added: “I agree with her [Tems]. Grown past being a Gemini, now I identify as a Jesus baby.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja that it has no evidence to support the allegation that Jude and Paul Okoye of P-Square fraudulently withdrew $800,000, contrary to claims made by their brother, Peter Okoye.
Peter had in 2024 petitioned the EFCC accusing Jude of diverting the P-Square group funds, operating 47 undeclared bank accounts and manipulating the share structure of Northside Entertainment Ltd, a company jointly owned by them
The EFCC subsequently filed charges against Jude over alleged financial misconduct in the management of the P-Square brand.
During resumed cross-examination, EFCC counsel, M.K. Bashir, told Justice Rahman Oshodi that the commission could not present evidence for the alleged withdrawal.
When asked by the judge to substantiate Peter’s claim, Bashir said: “We do not have it. It is his evidence. Let him prove it. I can’t give what I don’t have.”
Peter had testified on May 23, 2025, that he obtained new evidence showing how Jude and Paul allegedly withdrew and shared more than $800,000 between March 2023 and October 2024.
But when defence counsel, Clement Onwuenwunor, SAN, confronted him with inconsistencies, he shifted his position, stating that the alleged withdrawal actually occurred between 2013 and 2014.
The defence further challenged Peter’s assertion that Jude operated 47 bank accounts.
Peter insisted the EFCC held the evidence, but Bashir denied the claim, saying: “I do not have 47 bank accounts. It is one of the witness’s claims, but I do not have such a copy.”
Onwuenwunor asked the court to order Peter and the EFCC to produce the alleged 47 accounts.
Justice Oshodi however rejected the request and ruled that the defence must apply formally since the documents were neither before the court nor part of the admitted evidence.
The defence also confronted Peter over his claim that Jude owned 80 per cent of Northside Entertainment.
Although Peter maintained he had proof, the defence tendered CAC records contradicting his assertion.
Peter was further questioned on his claim that he was unaware of the existence of Northside Music and that Jude signed artist Cynthia Morgan without his knowledge.
He said he only discovered the company in 2024 when Cynthia Morgan sent him her contract on Northside Entertainment letterhead, adding that while the contract was signed with Northside Music, her albums were credited to Northside Inc.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to December 12, 2025, for continuation of trial.
Late American singer, Michael Jackson, has been crowned the highest-paid deceased celebrity of 2025.
The ‘King of pop’ topped the list of the highest-paid deceased celebrities of 2025 recently released by Forbes.
According to the magazine, Jackson earned $105 million over the past year, more than any other late icon by a wide margin.
The majority of Jackson’s recent earnings came from the 2024 sale of a 50% stake in his master recordings and publishing catalog to Sony Music for $600 million.
Other musicians on Forbes’ annual list of top-earning deceased celebrities cover ten of the top thirteen spots including Prince, John Lennon, and Bob Marley. Collectively, the group earned $541 million in the past year.
Since Jackson’s death in 2009, his estate has generated a staggering $3.5 billion, making him the most posthumously successful celebrity of all time
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