Netflix's American Murder: Gabby Petito is a new three-part documentary that focuses on the murder of Gabby Petito by her fiancé Brian Laundrie, their last days together, how Gabby's parents Nichole and Joseph embarked on a search for their missing daughter, and everything Brian Laundrie's parents did to help their son cover up the murder.
The documentary re-examines the facts already known, all while providing context on what happened between Petito and Laundrie. It features real text messages, video footage, and personal journals from Petito, as well as never-seen-before interviews with members of her family, including her parents Nichole and Joseph. And it's those personal journals from Petito that have turned heads since the documentary was released.
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As the documentary examines Petito's last days, it frequently relies on a voiceover to tell the story of what happened. But did American Murder: Gabby Petito hire an actress to recreate her voice or did they use AI to do it? Here's the answer.
American Murder: Gabby Petito is upfront about its AI usage. The show's first episode includes a message that reads: "Gabby Petito's journal entries and text messages are brought to life in this series in her own voice, using voice recreation technology."
Filmmakers Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro discussed the decision with US Weekly, saying, "We had so much material from her parents that we were able to get. All of her journals since she was young and there was so much of her writing. She documented her trips and most of her life from a young age. We thought it was really important to bring that to life," Gasparro said. "At the end of the day, we wanted to tell the story as much through Gabby as possible. It's her story."
They, of course, needed the permission of Gabby's family to recreate her voice. "We reached out to the family to get their blessing and then we worked diligently to represent it in exactly how it was written," Gasparro also shared. "That allowed you to hear it through her own words."
Social media reactions to the AI use were mostly negative, with fans saying "Recreating her voice using AI is sooooo messed up" and "Her family may have given the producers a thumbs up on the matter but even so it still feels wrong," with others adding that "Not everything needs to be AI'd."
Petito was murdered by her fiancé Brian Laundrie, who left her body in the woods -- where it was found three weeks later -- and fled back home to his parents, who allegedly helped him cover up the murder. Laundrie himself went missing not too longer after and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, just a few weeks after killing Petito. In a letter found alongside his body, Laundrie confessed to the killing, though he claimed the killing was "merciful," and the result of Gabby suffering a head injury in a fall.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) for confidential support.