OpenAI Voice Actor Cohort — Threatened 'Sky' Voice Likeness Claims (no filing)
(threatened — no filed case) · Public legal threat by Scarlett Johansson re: OpenAI 'Sky' voice (May 2024)
Scarlett Johansson publicly threatened legal action against OpenAI in May 2024 after the company released a 'Sky' voice for GPT-4o that closely resembled hers — after she had declined to license her voice. OpenAI withdrew the voice. No lawsuit was filed, but the episode became a touchstone for voice-likeness AI right-of-publicity policy debates and shaped the NO FAKES Act.
Technical detail
Public legal threat by Scarlett Johansson, May 20, 2024, asserting Cal. Civ. Code § 3344 / Lanham Act § 43(a) right-of-publicity and false endorsement claims. OpenAI 'paused' the Sky voice. No public docket; relevant for tracking voice-likeness AI policy and the NO FAKES Act path.
Who is protected: Recording artists, voice actors, and other performers vis-à-vis AI voice cloning
Who must comply: AI voice and generative-audio platforms
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | (threatened — no filed case) |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Status unknown |
| Protection strength | Unknown |
| Effective date | 2024-05-20 |
| Citation | Public legal threat by Scarlett Johansson re: OpenAI 'Sky' voice (May 2024) |
| Topics | deepfakes · consumer protection |
| Last verified | 2026-07-01 |
| Official source | OpenAI Pulls 'Sky' Voice After Scarlett Johansson Comment — NPR ↗ |
Related deepfakes rules elsewhere
- Arkansas Frank Broyles Act AI amendment — voice and likeness protection (2025) · In effect
- Doe v. X.AI (Grok NCII deepfakes class action) · In effect
- xAI v. Harwood (Grok NCII Counter-Suit 2026) · Blocked / in litigation
- Arizona HB 2133 deepfake sexual content — vetoed 2026 · Vetoed
- NY AG · In effect
- MI SOS Deepfake Election Policy · In effect
See something wrong or out of date? Submit a correction — every entry must carry a verifiable official source.