Sign Language Interpreter Goes Viral During De Blasio Ebola Press Conference
Updated: Monday, Oct. 27, 2014
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork.com) -- While Mayor Bill de Blasio and health officials were giving updates on New York City's first Ebola case Friday, the focus turned to another person in the room: The sign language guy.
The signer, who was seated to the right of the mayor, was enthusiastically signing throughout the press conference.
It appeared as if he was talking to another signer who was seated in the audience.
Some even questioned whether he was a legitimate sign language interpreter.
The Twitterverse soon noticed and tweets started taking the Internet by storm.
Watching @BilldeBlasio #Ebola news conference at repair shop. Most here are convinced his sign language interpreter is faking it.
— Michael Wallace (@MikeWallaceWCBS) October 24, 2014
The sign language guy has gone viral (in a good way).
— Eli Langer (@EliLanger) October 24, 2014
[Photo: @SteveKopack] pic.twitter.com/bJgd4vrjjN
Let's be real, the NYC Ebola sign language guy was just spelling out Rush lyrics.
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) October 24, 2014
In true New York fashion, no one on my timeline seems fazed by #Ebola and everyone's poking fun at the sign language interpreter.
— Victoria Rossi (@VictoriaRossi) October 24, 2014
It turns out, Jonathan Lamberton is certified as a Deaf interpreter and sat down with DHN, a news station that incorporates American Sign Language, spoken English and captions in all of its broadcasts, to discuss the rumors and why people mistakenly thought he was making it up.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com: