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Morgan Freeman Escalates Legal Fight Over Unauthorized AI Voice Clones

The crackdown spotlights an industry split, with some peers licensing approved AI voices through ElevenLabs.

Overview

  • Morgan Freeman said his lawyers are “very, very busy” pursuing cases and takedowns after identifying multiple unauthorized uses of AI recreations of his voice.
  • He called unconsented cloning “robbing me” and urged others not to “mimic me with falseness,” reiterating that his voice is part of his livelihood.
  • Freeman criticized the fully synthetic character Tilly Norwood as a threat to real performers, echoing SAG-AFTRA’s stance that the AI creation was trained on performers’ work without permission or compensation.
  • By contrast, Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey have entered consent-based deals with ElevenLabs to offer licensed AI versions of their voices, including McConaughey’s Spanish edition of his newsletter and Caine’s listing in the Iconic Voice Marketplace.
  • Freeman has been vocal about the issue since at least June 2024, when he thanked fans for flagging AI deepfakes and said he was working to remove unauthorized imitations.