Lip reading is hardly an exact science. Renowned as an expert lip reader in cases of sexual assault, insurance fraud and other serious cases, 49-year-old Jeremy Freeman described it as a skill that can be honed with practice. For Mr Freeman, who was born deaf, the practice has been “ingrained in me since I grew up,” he said.
He said he still relies on other cues, such as body language and social context, to determine what is being said. “There’s some guesswork involved,” says Freeman, who works as a writer near London. “I would never say I can lip-read 100 percent accurately.” Certain people, such as the Scottish comedian and actor Billy Connolly, confuse him. “I find it impossible to lip-read,” Mr. Freeman said.
Aside from accuracy, there is the issue of ethics. Is lip reading an invasion of privacy?
Mr. Freeman said he would never lip-read anyone at home. But if it’s a celebrity at a live event, such as the coronation of King Charles III, whom he lip-reads to a media outlet, he considers it “part of the commentary.” (He added that he later heard from a deaf person who thought it was an invasion of privacy.)
Ms. Dellinger said she also 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 be saying she was dating.
Krystin Kalvoy, 25, another popular lip reader on TikTok, said she won’t interpret videos where she believes something very personal is being said. She recently lip-read images of members of the royal family at the coronation, after deciding not to try and tell what the Afflecks said at the Grammys, which some TikTok users had asked her to do.
“The last thing I would want is to leak private moments,” says Ms Kalvoy, who is hard of hearing. ‘Do we want to know what’s going on? Is Ben drinking again?’ You don’t want to be the fuel for that fire.
