Scarlett Johansson has issued a statement speaking out against a viral AI-created video in which celebrities protest Kanye West‘s recent wave of antisemitic posts. An AI version of Scarlett Johansson begins the clip, which features her and the likes of Jack Black, Mila Kunis, Drake, Steven Spielberg and others, all wearing T-shirts with the Star of David inside a hand making a middle finger gesture, and the word ‘Kanye’ written underneath. An AI version of Adam Sandler sticks his middle finger up as the video ends with the messages: “Enough is Enough” and “Join the Fight Against Antisemitism.”
Johansson called out the “the misuse of AI” in her statement and wrote: “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
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“I have unfortunately been a very public victim of AI,” Johansson continued, “but the truth is that the threat of AI affects each and every one of us. There is a 1000-foot wave coming regarding AI that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the U.S. government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI.”
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Johansson concluded by writing: “I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”
As the Black Widow actor and “Marriage Story” Oscar nominee noted herself, she has been a “public victim” of AI and has spent the last two years fighting back against the recreation of her likeness. Johansson took legal action in November 2023 against an AI app that used her name and likeness in an online advertisement without permission. She then condemned OpenAI in May 2024 for using her voice from Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her” as inspiration for a GPT-4o chatbot named Sky. Johansson’s lawyers contacted OpenAI to have the voice pulled down. She later revealed that she had turned down OpenAI’s original request to use her voice.
“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that [OpenAI CEO Sam Altman] would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference,” Johansson said at the time in regards to the company using her voice anyway. “Mr. Altman even insinuated that the similarity was intentional, tweeting a single word ‘her’ — a reference to the film in which I voiced a chat system, Samantha, who forms an intimate relationship with a human.”
As for West, his antisemitic comments have resulted in his talent manager dropping him and his X profile being deactivated. His website, Yeezy.com, also went offline after it was selling a shirt with a swastika on it.
