WASHINGTON — Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show performance was undoubtedly a showstopper. The pregnant singer’s animated routine on floating platforms high above the field wowed millions watching across the country.
But another performer nearby brought the electric performance to another audience, one that couldn’t hear Rihanna’s performance at all.
Sign language interpreter Justina Miles started going viral on social media because of video showing her energetic interpretation of the performance’s lyrics.
It’s not her first brush with internet fame. Miles has a popular TikTok account where she interprets popular songs into ASL with the same enthusiasm she put on display at the big game.
As well as matching Rihanna for the halftime show, Miles signed along to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” during the pregame when it was sung by Sheryl Lee Ralph.
According to CBS, Miles became the first Deaf Black woman to perform at the Super Bowl.
According to the National Association of the Deaf, Miles is from Philadelphia and was part of team USA at the 2021/22 Deaflympics — where athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing compete. She won silver as part of the 4×100 women’s track relay team.
She has also interpreted for other artists around the country at various concerts, according to the NAD.
Other well-known ASL interpreters were also part of the Super Bowl performance, including Troy Kostur.
Kostur won the Oscar for best supporting actor for the film “CODA” in 2022, becoming the second deaf person to win an Academy Award and the first deaf man to do so. He interpreted the national anthem during the Super Bowl.
Colin Denny, the third interpreter for the Super Bowl, is a Navajo Native American working on his Master’s degree in sign language education.
According to NAD, all of the ASL performances at the Super Bowl were live streamed on FOX’s YouTube.