The Fake Sign Language Interpreter

Today we'll tell the tale of how a a sign language interpreter for Nelson Mandela's funeral took the web by storm.

This video is for documentary, educational, and scientific purposes.

[TheGamerFromMars]

A big thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video!

[Xokoy]

Don't you just hate it when you're on your way to a medical check up for your severe condition and you accidentally find yourself on stage in front of millions of people at a major international and historical event pretending to be doing something you can't even do?

[saltycomet]

I couldn't imagine the confidence to even actually try to improvise this in front of that many people 😂😂

[magicalcapi]

On the positive note, I bet this mistake made sign language be taken more serious, because the guy was hired as interpreter was hired by many events before the funeral and went unnoticed this far
Imagine how many other frauds didn't occur until then

[mrdavisdance]

My brother is schizophrenic. On his meds he's the sweetest person on the planet. Smart, hardworking, honest, social. When he went off his meds it only took a few months for him to lose his job, rack up 4 grand in credit card, attempt to adopt a child, and throw a knife at a cop. He's back on his medicine now but that mental illness completely rips reality out of their heads.

[nickark]

I feel like just learning sign language would have been easier than dedicating to a scam to this level

[ndlmous]

I know deaf people who can totally boo you. I used to work today nursing home where one of our residents was deaf, lovely woman, and due to the fact that every Friday we had karaoke night she would come to karaoke and screw with the people participating because even though she couldn't sing she could get a lot of entertainment out of messing with those that could 😆

[Anaki_Rob]

Having schizophrenia does not make him a bad person, being a fraud does. There's no reason why a schizophrenic can't be an interpreter or work at prestigious events. But there are plenty of reasons why this man in particular should not have been there.

[annaisntcool]

i’ll never forget this incident because i was an ASL student when it happened. my teacher put the video on in class for us all to roast the guy’s gibberish “signing”

[internettraveler]

when you lie on the job application because you'll totally learn from experience

[ET-dprs]

4:14 I almost died when he said "unfortunately their complaints weren't heard..." Kinda made that ironic.

[pembrokelove]

I’m Deaf and I remember this so perfectly. We (me and my friends in class that day) were so confused, and we started talking about like BSL and stuff, and settled on South Africa having their own language. The signs he was doing were technically all signs, they just didn’t make any sense together. 🤣😂😂

[ZionDR]

I overthink a lot of things I do and after hearing so many people fail spectacularly or, like in the video, lie to an extraordinary degree- I don’t think me messing up something minor will really matter at all. Like the kid who lied about being a doctor or another guy on a ship who lied and preformed surgery on people. How does no one do a basic background check or even ask them simple things like “how do you sign ____?” or “what is the procedure where fluid is removed from the chest?”

[iithecookies]

imagine being actually deaf, trying to understand the interpreter, and find out youve been bamboozled

[V-for-Vendetta]

i know that schizophrenia isnt exactly an explanation for his actions, but the company that hired him is to blame more than he is.

[WaitingtoHit]

I remember seeing this interpreter guy on TV during Mandela’s memorial service, and man, this is one of the funniest things in history. I feel fortunate to have been alive to witness this totally unexpected moment of staggering absurdity.

[Magic_Ice]

I’m in asl class and the teacher aid constantly complains how people like him get jobs in the interpreting field and no one does any actual background checks.

[skodeku]

I'm sure somebody before he went up knew what he was doing and totally let him dry out on national telly lmao

[jayst]

I just can’t. Seeing him “sign” is making me laugh so dang hard. Obviously is pretty messed up but geez is it funny 😆

[CaptainBasculin]

Even if he was the most skilled translator out there, it would be impossible to keep translating for 4 hours straight. At that point it is not a translator issue, but a organizator issue.