Celebrity voices like Melissa McCarthy and Samuel L. Jackson are disappearing from Amazon’s Alexa
-
Roshan Amiri
- . May 31, 2023
- . Update: May 31, 2023 8:01 pm
Alexa from Amazon won’t sound like Samuel L. Jackson and Melissa McCarthy anymore.
The world’s largest online retailer has halted the sale of celebrity “personalities” for Alexa. Amazon notes that the celebrity voices it offers can no longer be purchased on the product pages for those voices.
The Alexa voice of Melissa McCarthy is no longer for sale. The online notice states that customers who have already paid for the experience may use the skill through September 30, 2023, by saying “Hey Melissa.”
Shaquille O’Neal, a star for the Lakers, was one of the other voices available. Customers who paid $4.99 for the voiceovers will still have access to them through the end of September.
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Although they did not provide a reason for doing so, Amazon said in a statement to news sources that they were “winding down celebrity voices” after three years. Customers may continue using these voices for a brief period while requesting a refund by contacting our customer service team.
Except for the original Echo and Echo Dot, celebrity users were compatible with the majority of voice-activated Echo devices. Wearables, Fire TVs, and Fire Tablets were additional products that were not supported.
When learning the skill, Alexa stood aside and let the famous persona take the lead. Users could wake up the device by saying “Hey Melissa” if they purchased McCarthy’s voice, and “Hey Samuel” if they purchased Jackson’s voice.
Watch a commercial for Alexa featuring Jackson interacting with the virtual assistant in the recording studio below.
