Is Celebrity Lip-Reading a Step Too Far?

During Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony, many viewers were focused not on the winners taking the stage, but on the conversations being had in the audience. As the cameras panned, folks at home were shown an intimate moment between Timothée Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner, as well as what appeared to be a juicy gossip sesh between Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift. Before long, people were recording the moments, zooming in and speculating on what was said in what should have been private moments between some of the most famous celebs.

“Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up. Not that that’s anyone business,” Gomez clarified on Instagram, after rumors swirled that her request for a photo with Chalamet was rebuffed.

In a new post with nearly 1 million views, Nina Dellinger, aka “the lip reading girl” on TikTok, hypothesized that John Krasinski told wife Emily Blunt on the red carpet, “It’s chilly here, right? I can’t wait until we’re indoors,” after the Internet became convinced he was instead saying he wanted a divorce.

For Internet amateurs, lip-reading is no better than a weird game of telephone — people each taking their own guess as to what was said, when usually they’re far from the truth. But, there are professionals as well.

For instance, Jeremy Freeman is a forensic lip reader who’s been hired to detail the private conversations of celebrities like Swift and Jenner, but the Royal family as well. According to the UK professional, he was “born profoundly deaf and was raised orally.” He has worked for media outlets like the Sun, the Times, the Daily Mail and more deciphering dialogue of the biggest stars. He even works in legal and security sectors, such as the police.

“My journey as an expert witness lip-reader has been a fascinating one… it has gifted me with countless stories, experiences, and a few laughs along the way,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Many would argue that Freeman is doing important work and just “giving the people what they want.”

And while that certainly may be true, is this intense interest in celebrity conversations a step too far? Fans have stressed the lack of privacy, which, unfortunately, is nothing new.

For years now, people have live-tweeted conversations from strangers they’ve overheard, now choosing to regale them on TikTok. Is lip-reading the latest in this trend and what will be the impact?

Like Gomez, celebrities are having to defend themselves from something being misconstrued, to avoid rumors about a feud, divorce or anything else. Perhaps cameras will stop capturing these moments — or maybe celebrities will protect themselves by covering their mouths or wearing masks.