OpenAI used a voice that sounded a lot like the actress Scarlett Johansson’s as its new ChatGPT voice assistant, as many pointed out after its debut. Now things just got a whole lot more explosive, with Johansson saying that company’s leadership asked her permission to use her voice — and then went ahead and did it anyway when she said no. Johansson said in a new statement that OpenAI’s Sam Altman wanted to hire her to voice the AI assistant, known as “Sky,” which is one of five voice options available in the latest update of ChatGPT and was featured prominently in promotional videos. The “Lost in Translation” star ultimately declined, and was appalled when she heard how much the finished product sounded like her own voice. “I 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 could not tell the difference,” Johansson said. Worse, it feels almost indisputable that the company is explicitly cribbing her performance in the 2013 romantic tragedy “Her,” with Altman tweeting the single word “her” as the chatbot launched — a move, in Johannson’s reckoning, that “insinuated that the similarity was intentional.” Just before the ChatGPT 4o launch, the actress wrote, the CEO contacted her agent asking her to reconsider her endorsement of Sky’s voice. But before she had a chance to respond, “the system was out there.” “As a result of their actions, I was forced to hire legal…Scarlett Johansson Says OpenAI Asked to Use Her Voice for ChatGPT, and When She Said No They Did It Anyway