Justina Miles
Sign language interpreter steals the show from Rihanna at the Super Bowl – she wasn’t on TV
Rihanna is joined by sign language interpreter Justina Miles as she performs the halftime show at the Super Bowl
© Shutterstock / Imago Images
Not only did Rihanna wow the audience at the Super Bowl, her sign language interpreter was also celebrated. For Justina Miles, another song was more important than any Rihanna hit.
The halftime show is traditionally an integral part of the Super Bowl, one superstar or even several appear every year – and some viewers are even more interested in the show than what is happening on the field. A sign language interpreter is also present so that the deaf can also enjoy the performance.
This year Rihanna performed, she was supported by Justina Miles, who signed her hits like “Umbrella” or “Diamonds” for the deaf. The TV viewers didn’t notice anything during the regular broadcast, their performance was only streamed over the Internet. But it wasn’t just the service for the deaf and hard of hearing, more and more people were becoming aware of their Super Bowl performance online.
Audience wowed by sign language interpreter at Super Bowl
Not only did Miles sign Rihanna’s lyrics during the halftime show, he also performed a dance performance to match that of the pop star. Some US media even went so far as to write that the sign language interpreter stole the show from Rihanna, with some Twitter users claiming that her performance was even more spectacular than Rihanna’s. Miles also feels this on Instagram: Before the Super Bowl, she only had a few tens of thousands of followers, now there are more than 150,000.
Miles himself is hard of hearing. She is a registered nurse, a cheerleader and a silver medalist in the 4x100m relay at the Deaflympics, the equivalent of the Olympic Games for the deaf. On several occasions she has signed to music on a larger stage. The Super Bowl was undoubtedly her biggest performance to date.
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Even more meaningful to Miles than the halftime show was being able to sign “Lift Every Voice And Sing” before the game. The song is considered the national anthem of the black population. She was the first Black sign language interpreter at the Super Bowl. “It’s not just my job to share this experience with the world, but to really bring this encouragement to millions and millions of Black deaf people across the country who have never seen this before,” Miles said.
Sources: CNN / NFL / Justina Miles on Instagram