Morgan Freeman's 'Voice' Hijacked for GOP Ad

Campaign officials for a North Carolina congressional candidate have finally conceded the voice on a radio and TV spot really isn't Morgan Freeman's, even though they insisted yesterday it was. The confession came after a furious Freeman slammed the campaign for hijacking his endorsement of Republican candidate BJ Lawson, who's challenging Democrat David Price. "These people are lying. I have never recorded any campaign ads for BJ Lawson and I do not support his candidacy," Freeman said in a statement. "No one who represents me has ever authorized the use of my name, voice or any other likeness in support of Mr. Lawson or his candidacy." The campaign now says that staffers were "misled" by the production company that produced the spot.

But a production company official made it "very clear" to Lawson that the spot would use a "voice double" for the actor, the official told Politico. The voice on the ad is eerily similar to Freeman's. Just yesterday a campaign statement confirmed the ad was "indeed narrated by actor Morgan Freeman," adding: "People shouldn't be so shocked that someone like Mr. Freeman would think outside of the left-right red vs. blue dynamic." Now the campaign is "apologizing to Congressman Price, to the voters, and most of all to Morgan Freeman."
(More BJ Lawson stories.)