Lip readers apply their skill to celebrity conversations

Lip reading is not an exact science. jeremy freemanThe 49-year-old, who has been called upon as an expert lip reader in cases of sexual assault, insurance fraud and other serious matters, described it as a skill that can be honed with considerable practice. For Mr. Freeman, who was born deaf, the practice “has been ingrained in me since I grew up,” he said.

He said it still relies on other cues, like body language and social context, to determine what’s being said. “There’s guesswork involved,” said Freeman, who works as a writer near London. “I would never say that I can read lips with 100 percent accuracy.” Certain people, like the Scottish comedian and actor Billy Connolly, confuse it. “I find it impossible to lip read,” Freeman said.

In addition to accuracy, there is the question of ethics. Is lip reading an invasion of privacy?

Mr. Freeman said he would never lip read someone in his house. But if he’s a celebrity at a live event, like the coronation of king Carlos III, who read lips for a media outlet, sees it as “part of the commentary.” (He added that he later heard from a deaf person that he thought was an invasion of privacy.)

Ms. Dellinger said that she too has limits. In a video she posted of a conversation between Olivia Rodrigo and Iris Apatow in the front row of a Los Angeles Lakers game, Ms. Dellinger omitted the name of the person Ms. Rodrigo appeared to say she was dating.

Kristin Kalvoy, 25, another popular TikTok lip reader, said she won’t perform videos where she thinks something deeply personal is being said. She lip reading pictures recently of members of the royal family during the coronation, having decided not to attempt to narrate what the Afflecks were saying at the Grammys, something some TikTok users had asked him to do.

“The last thing you want is to leak private moments,” said Kalvoy, who is hard of hearing. ‘Do we want to know what is happening? Is Ben drinking again? You don’t want to be the fuel for that fire.”