Scarlett Johansson Hires Hollywood Lawyer in OpenAI Voice Fight

The Hollywood lawyer who helped Scarlett Johansson take on Walt Disney Co. is representing the actress in her fight with OpenAI over the use of a chatbot voice she says sounded like her.

John Berlinski, a partner at Los Angeles-based boutique Bird Marella whose clients include Brad Pitt, came to Johansson’s aid as she demanded the ChatGPT maker remove an AI voice that she said “sounded so eerily similar to mine.”

Johansson said Monday she was “forced to hire legal counsel” on the issue. She said she had turned down an earlier offer to voice an audio feature for the company’s popular chatbot. OpenAI has since replaced the contested voice, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saying it was never intended to resemble the actress’.

Berlinski is representing Johansson in her dealings with OpenAI, who is using Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati partner David Kramer, according to a source familiar with the matter.

OpenAI, Berlinski and Wilson Sonsini did not immediately return requests for comment on Tuesday.

Johansson, one of the world’s best-paid actresses, went to Berlinski in 2021 to sue Disney over its decision to release her Marvel superhero film “Black Widow” on the Disney+ online platform at the same time as its theatrical release.

Johansson claimed the move represented a breach of her contract with Disney and hurt her compensation, which was tied to movie-ticket sales. The two sides settled in September 2021 under terms that were not disclosed.

Berlinski worked on that case with a team from the litigation firm Kasowitz Benson Torres, where he spent eight years before joining national litigation boutique Bird, Marella, Rhow, Lincenberg, Drooks, & Nessim in 2022.

A former in-house counsel at NBC Universal Inc., Berlinski’s private practice has included repping several celebrities, including “Bones” stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz for whom he obtained a $179 million arbitration award against 21st Century Fox and the Fox Broadcasting Company. He’s also currently representing Pitt in a dispute with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie tied to the ownership of a French winery, according to his law firm bio.

OpenAI faces increased legal scrutiny from artists and writers over its methods and the content it uses to train its software. The company is facing a raft of lawsuits touching on copyright and intellectual property issues. It has turned to firms such as Latham & Watkins, Morrison Foerster and Keker Van Nest & Peters for its defense in some of these cases.