Justina Miles, Rihanna’s Super Bowl ASL Interpreter, Was on Fire
Justina Miles, 20, received widespread acclaim for her dynamic energy while interpreting Rihanna’s 13-minute halftime performance during Super Bowl LVII, featuring many of her hit songs in American Sign Language.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Miles made history as the first Black woman to provide ASL interpretation for the sensational halftime performance on Sunday.
Justina Miles made history (and looked incredible while doing it) with her high-energy ASL translation. https://t.co/0X7XE5WTPl
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) February 13, 2023
The Philadelphia native was one of three interpreters for the big game which included Troy Kotsur and Colin Danny. She was featured twice during the event, first at Sheryl Lee Ralph’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and later at Rihanna’s halftime show.
In an interview with CBS News, Miles opened up on how she prepared for Rihanna’s performance. She had gotten the setlist five days before the Super Bowl and she was nervous.
However, what helped her prepare for the big event was memorizing the lyrics so that she could sign them accordingly and move to the beat. She wanted audiences to “see” the music’s beat in her dance movements instead of just hearing it. She states her goal was to “be as visual as possible” to match Rihanna’s energy.
Clearly, she was having the time of her life, passionately dancing to the rhythm while interpreting Rihanna’s iconic tracks. As a result, her enthusiasm took the internet by storm. Although she did win the hearts of many viewers last night, this wasn’t her first time being an internet sensation. A video of Miles singing to Lil Kim’s 1997 Single “Crush on You,” during a TikTok trend from 2020 garnered tens of thousands of views, likes, and retweets.
The tik tok girls are really killing it wow 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/welUGDK3ba
— LawToya 💗 (@ToyaRochelle) May 3, 2020
According to CNBC, in addition to being an avid interpreter, she also won a silver medal for the United States during the 2021-2022 Deaflympics in the 4×100 women’s track relay. She’s currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in the field of nursing from Bowie State University.
Miles is not the only member in her family that is hard of hearing, her mother is also deaf, so sign language was the only way to communicate. During the pre-game press conference, she explains how grateful she is to represent a largely overlooked group in our society.
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