Author: mfnnews
‘You’re robbing me’: Morgan Freeman slams Tilly Norwood, AI voice clones
The use of celebrity likeness for AI videos is spiraling out of control, and one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is not having it.
Despite the use of AI in online videos being fairly new, it has already become a trope to use an artificial version of a celebrity’s voice for content relating to news, violence, or history.
‘I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that.’
This is particularly true when it comes to satirical videos that are meant to sound like documentaries. Creators love to use recognizable voices, like David Attenborough’s and, of course, Morgan Freeman’s, whose voice has become so recognizable that others have labeled him as “the voice of God.”
However, the 88-year-old Freeman is not pleased about his voice being replicated. In an interview with the Guardian, he said that while some actors like James Earl Jones (who played Darth Vader) have consented to his voice being imitated with computers, he has not.
“I’m a little PO’d, you know,” Freeman told the outlet. “I’m like any other actor: Don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”
Freeman explained that his lawyers have been “very, very busy” in pursuing “many … quite a few” cases in which his voice was replicated without his consent.
In the same interview, the Memphis native was also not shy about criticizing the concept of AI actors.
RELATED: Hollywood’s newest star isn’t human — and why that’s ‘disturbing’
Photo by Chris Haston/WBTV via Getty Images
Freeman was asked about Tilly Norwood, the AI character introduced by Dutch actress Eline Van der Velden in 2025. The pretend-world character is meant to be an avatar mimicking celebrity status, while also cutting costs in the casting room.
“Nobody likes her because she’s not real and that takes the part of a real person,” Freeman jabbed. “So it’s not going to work out very well in the movies or in television. … The union’s job is to keep actors acting, so there’s going to be that conflict.”
Freeman spoke out about the use of his voice in 2024, as well. According to a report by 4 News Now, a TikTok creator posted a video claiming to be Freeman’s niece and used an artificial version of his voice to narrate the video.
In response, Freeman wrote on X, “Thank you to my incredible fans for your vigilance and support in calling out the unauthorized use of an A.I. voice imitating me.”
He added, “Your dedication helps authenticity and integrity remain paramount. Grateful.”
RELATED: Meet AI ‘actress’ Tilly Norwood. Is she really the future of entertainment?
Norwood is not the first attempt at taking an avatar mainstream. In 2022, Capitol Records flirted with an AI rapper named FN Meka; the very idea that the rapper was even signed to a label was historic in the first place.
The rapper, or more likely its representatives, were later dropped from the label after activists claimed the character reinforced racial stereotypes.
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Texas child gender transition still happening despite statewide ban
Texas state laws ban doctors from giving guidance on transgender medicine and procedures on minors — but the Texas Medical Association is still doing it.
“Sometimes I even think, ‘Well, that’s behind us now.’ It’s actually not. Even here in the state of Texas because despite the fact that Texas outlawed this awful, brutal practice mutilating healthy body parts of children … there still seem to be doctors and associations that are trying to carry out this disgusting, brutal torture ritual,” BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales says on “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered.”
Gonzales pulls out a recent “lesson” from Texas Medical Association doctors where they claim that as primary care physicians, they “play a vital role in transgender and gender diverse … health care.”
“With a significant increase in TGD individuals seeking care, staying informed about best practices is essential. By understanding gender identity development and offering tailored support, you can improve outcomes and build trust,” the lesson states.
“They even make sure to highlight that this is for adolescent and adult care,” Gonzales says, noting that the lesson is $199.
“Wow, what a bargain to create a patient for life. Incredible,” she says.
Senate Bill 14 took effect in September 2023 and prohibits “gender transition” medical interventions, such as surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross sex hormones for minors — and Texas state Rep. Steve Toth (R) is trying to raise awareness that the law is being ignored.
“Has the Texas Medical Association responded to any of this?” Gonzales asks Toth, who responds, “Not a word.”
One mom from Florida, January Littlejohn, has become an activist in helping parents across the country get justice for their children.
“She said, ‘President Trump is trying to shut all this stuff down,’ but she said, ‘I’m getting swarmed now all across the United States with moms and dads calling me, telling me that their kids are being transitioned primarily in red states like Texas where we’ve banned it,’” Toth tells Gonzales.
“How is this happening?” Gonzales asks.
“The big mistake, the big failure from the 88th legislative session is we didn’t ban social transitioning. We banned the chemical and surgical transitioning, but we did not ban the social transitioning,” Toth explains.
“And so what you’re seeing happen now in the Texas Medical Association is they’re teaching doctors at like Texas Children’s and Methodists that here’s what you do, you just say that you’re going to put this little girl on Lupron, which is a puberty blocker, and you say that it’s for precocious puberty,” he continues.
“It’s not to transition her, it’s for precocious puberty. And then once she goes through … puberty, once she goes through that, then she’s going to be put on a cross sex hormone like testosterone and that’s really easy to get. You just get someone, a doctor from, you know, New Mexico or Arizona, to send that to you and now all of a sudden, she’s good to go,” he adds.
While those administering these treatments claim they’re “reversible,” Toth explains that they’re “not reversible at all.”
“You can’t just try and go through puberty at age 20. It doesn’t work that way,” he adds.
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A Singapore court sentenced an Australian man to nine days in jail on Monday for rushing film star Ariana Grande at the Asian premiere of “Wicked: For Good” last week.
Tom Cruise touts the power of cinema as he accepts honorary Oscar
How does a person summarize the 45-year career of Tom Cruise in a four-minute speech? “Mission impossible,” said director Alejandro Inarritu on Sunday as Hollywood celebrated the movie star with an honorary Oscar.
Magnetic fossils may reveal ancient creature”s internal ‘GPS system”
Microscopic magnetic fossils found in the sea may represent parts of an internal “GPS system” for an ancient marine creature that used Earth’s magnetic field to navigate long distances.
