She said what?! How lip-reading stars like Taylor Swift has become TikTok’s most addictive trend
There are times when you come across a clip and you think to yourself: wow, to be a fly on the wall. It might be Charles nattering away to Camilla outside Buckingham Palace, Trump shaking hands with Putin, or Taylor Swift whispering in the ear of a confidante courtside at an NBA game – but you know it when you feel it: that irresistible urge to know what is being said.
Blame it on awards season, the fact the internet has made gossip hounds of us all, or the unprecedented access we have to our favourite celebrities thanks to social media, but that urge seems to be stronger than ever these days. And it’s given rise to a cottage industry of armchair lip-readers online who relay celebrities’ conversations in short videos that attract tens of millions of views. Being a fly on the wall is seemingly easier than ever; no Cronenberg-esque transformation necessary – just a special skill and a TikTok account.
The results are a mixed bag. At the Golden Globes last month, actor John Krasinski supposedly complained to his wife, a celebrity gossip account with nearly 600,000 followers. Her interpretation was swiftly debunked by lip-readers on the platform and she apologised for her own “erroneous” lip-reading. “I’m a gossip activist, okay?” she joked. Also at the Globes, . (The consensus among lip-readers of that particular conversation, though, holds water – despite ).
