Update!

Morgan Freeman Not a Tea Party Guy, FYI

Actor said North Carolina congressional candidate is "lying" about using his voice in an ad attacking Democratic incumbent

By Natalie Finn Nov 01, 2010 10:41 PMTags

UPDATE: Lawson later apologized, his campaign blaming consulting firm M.E.I. Political, which produced the Freemanesque ad.

"This is terribly unfortunate and we apologize profusely to Morgan Freeman for what has happened," the candidate said. "This is obviously not something we ever would want to misrepresent."
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It may seem like he does, but Morgan Freeman doesn't lend his voice to everything.

The sonorous Oscar winner vehemently denies providing the narration for Tea Party-approved Republican congressional candidate B.J. Lawson's attack ad against the Democratic incumbent—a savvy move, considering it totally wasn't his voice.

(To be fair, it starts off kinda sounding like him, and then fades into total not-him territory.)

"These people are lying," Freeman said in a statement Monday. "I have never recorded any campaign ads for B.J. Lawson, and I do not support his candidacy. And, no one who represents me ever has ever authorized the use of my name, voice or any other likeness in support of Mr. Lawson or his candidacy."

Freeman, who supported Barack Obama in 2008, has a history of siding with the Democrats as far as his politics are concerned.

"I'd like to see them produce one shred of evidence that it is him," added the actor's publicist, Stan Rosenfield.

"It's an interesting voice, but it never occurred to us it was Morgan Freeman," North Carolina Rep. David Price, whose House seat is on the line, told the Raleigh News & Observer. "They need to make this right, and that starts with a sincere apology to Mr. Freeman and pulling at ad down. That ad should not run another minute."

Lawson's campaign manager, though he at first said that "people shouldn't be so shocked" that Freeman took part, then admitted that they could have been hoodwinked.

"We paid for Morgan Freeman," campaign manager Martin Avila said, referring to the California company that produced the ad. "We feel tremendously taken advantage of. This is not what we want to be talking about the day before voters go to the polls."