Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP' sign language interpreter goes viral after Lollapalooza set
4 August 2021, 12:17
Addison Rae does the WAP dance challenge on TikTok
"Seeing an interpreter at a concert shouldn't be shocking. Seeing a deaf interpreter on tour with every artist should be the norm!"
A sign language interpreter has gone viral on social media thanks to their Lollapalooza Festival performance of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's 'WAP'.
Kelly Kurdi, an American Sign Language interpreter, took to the stage during Megan's performance at the Chicago festival, with the sign language that accompanied the explicit lyrics of 'WAP' that caused her to go viral on TikTok.
Guilherme Senise (@vitalsenise) shared a short clip of Kelly's energetic performance, alongside the caption, "I wanted to check how the interpreters were signing WAP and...", and the internet was loving it.
The clip of Kelly that was shared on social media saw her performing sign language to Cardi B's verse on the song, that included the lyrics: "I don't wanna spit, I wanna gulp/I wanna gag, I wanna choke/I want you to touch that lil' dangly thing/That swing in the back of my throat."
Kelly can be seen signing with ASL to match the lyrics.
EXCUSE ME BUT THE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER DURING MEGAN’S PERFORMANCE OF WAP MUST BE SEEN pic.twitter.com/6p590p5YS2
— Alexa Lisitza (@AlexaLisitza) August 3, 2021
In response to going viral on social media, Kelly took to Instagram (@kelly4access) to direct new followers on her page to other Deaf creators, interpreters and teachers within the ASL community. She also highlighted the importance of having interpreters at live concerts.
She wrote: "If you're new to my page, you'll quickly see this is a space meant to amplify the work of Deaf creators and to provide access to social media content to the Deaf community. I'm a hearing interpreter so I do not teach.
"Support Deaf creators. And if you're still wondering why deaf and hard of hearing people go to concerts follow these pages and learn something new. Seeing an interpreter at a concert shouldn't be shocking. Seeing a deaf interpreter on tour with every artist should be the norm!"
Kelly also made sure to highlight the original creator of the 'WAP' ASL interpretation, dancer Raven Sutton.
Here's the full list of creators that Kelly linked in the Instagram post: @freelove19xx, @_jtay_, @deafinitelydope, @redmenace11, @slntwrlddd, @msdeafqueen and @itscharmay.
Kelly also shared resources for ASL classes (@slntwrlddd @queen_beeezy @fitbymartise ) and places to hire interpreters (@probonoasl and @ambergproductions).
