ASL’s Temporary Virality in Pop Culture

In the past couple of months, a few American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters have temporarily gone viral. It seems, though, that ASL only trends or is noticed when it’s something that’s entertaining or “over-the-top,” and not when interpreters are in more typical, casual settings. The fact that ASL only trends for brief moments for the “shock factor” versus being given a platform because having an interpreter is a basic necessity for accessibility has become problematic of social media and the trends it creates.

This past Super Bowl, in February 2023, Rihanna performed in the halftime show. ASL interpreter Justina Miles signed during the 13-minute performance, and very quickly went viral – especially on TikTok. Miles is a 20-year-old nursing student at HBCU Bowie State University who is hard of hearing. She was also part of the 2021-22 USA team for the Deaflympics in Brazil, where she won a silver medal, and was the valedictorian at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington D.C. She also signed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for the Super Bowl’s pre-show, and was the first Deaf person to perform during this song and the first female Deaf performer in a Super Bowl halftime show (via CNBC). These hallmarks of the Super Bowl and their importance to those in the Deaf/hard of hearing community were entirely overlooked, even Justina Miles’s name was often not credited, and instead, the focus was on just how entertaining and expressive Miles’ signing was during the halftime show.

I didn’t watch any part of the Super Bowl, not even the halftime show, but Miles very quickly took up half of my For You Page. Those watching seemed to love how Miles was signing/interpreting the show to some of Rihanna’s songs, including “Work,” “Rude Boy,” and especially “Bitch Better Have My Money.” Miles’s signs and expressions were passionate and enthusiastic, and many took note of her interpreting, including Rolling Stone, Entertainment Tonight, and many news outlets – on top of Twitter and TikTok posting clips and comments on her performance. She was even interviewed following the Super Bowl on CBS Mornings, which I don’t think would’ve happened if she had not gone viral, as ASL interpreters are often extremely overlooked.

The spotlight on Miles quickly faded just as fast as she went viral, and this is a trend that has happened in the past; ASL interpreters momentarily go viral on social media, as people find their signing entertaining or amusing for a particular reason, and once something else goes viral, the interpreters lose that spotlight and recognition. This happened recently with another ASL interpreter, Marc Ethan, who signed during the Sydney WorldPride event. 

Marc Ethan is from New Zealand and is a qualified NZSL Interpreter and accredited Auslan/English Interpreter, working for the Echo Interpreting group since 2006 (via Echo Interpreting’s Facebook). Echo Interpreting is a company that provides interpreter services to people who need that accessibility, and this company provided services to the government at conferences and various types of events (including for public events and high-profile celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Parliament) Ethan is a successful and known interpreter and has been awarded for his work, receiving the 2012 ASLIA Victoria Auslan Interpreter of the Year award (via SK Pop).

He, like Miles, went for his interpreting of singer Kim Petras’s music that was performed at the Sydney WorldPride event at the beginning of last month, March 2023. Ethan was hired to interpret for other artists, not just Kim Petras, but audiences on TikTok strongly reacted to some of Ethan’s signs, particularly during the songs “Coconuts,” “Throat Goat,” and “Superpower Bitch.” People didn’t care about the accessibility of Ethan being there for Deaf and hard of hearing attendees, but instead because of how he was signing to Kim Petras’ songs, which are heavily sexual. For that reason, it is understandable why Ethan received more attention for his signing during Petras’s set, but one issue I encountered with some reactions to his interpreting was how it was talked about, in articles and on social media. One Insider article is called “The internet is obsessed with a sign language interpreter who performed raunchy sexual gestures during a Kim Petras performance” and a New York Post article was titled “Kim Petras’ sexy sign language interpreter flusters fans: ‘I’m in love.’” Some of the language used in these articles and discussions on social media include that Ethan’s signs were “suggestive” and were “sexual gestures,” and this type of language takes away from the importance of having a sign language interpreter. Marc Ethan’s name was rarely credited in these titles and social media discussions, as was the case with Justina Miles. And again, the greater problem is that this accessibility is consistently overlooked and not given a solid platform – it’s only popular when they “steal the show” or entertain those audiences who are hearing, because for them it’s something that can be entertaining and is not a basic necessity. 

Aside from Justina Miles and Marc Ethan, there are some other times were ASL interpreting has either gone viral or been shown in media, including the last season of Dancing With the Stars, where contestant Daniel Durant (a Deaf actor who starred in the Academy Award Winning film, CODA) and Gabriel (Gabe) Gomez, his interpreter and best friend, were spotlighted. Also, at a 2017 Waka Flocka concert, a clip went viral of Waka Flocka interacting with Holly Maniatty, the interpreter at the show. However, Maniatty’s name is not credited in the video title on YouTube and hardly in articles that reported on it. The comments in that video also don’t refer to her by name, just as “Waka Flocka’s interpreter” – like how Miles and Ethan were referred to in media.

Overall, there is a need for more accessibility and having sign language interpreters in all environments with audiences, as it’s simply a basic necessity. The Super Bowl halftime show of 2022 was the first Super Bowl halftime show to have ASL performers, which is shocking and disappointing that there wasn’t that accessibility until then. There is also a need for more representation in media for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing – not just temporary popularity due to amusement from hearing audiences watching – and for interpreters to be properly credited for their work and accomplishments.