Is Lip Reading Just Harmless Fun Or Is It Actually Horribly Unethical?

If you kept abreast of last week's Golden Globe Awards, you're probably familiar with all of the drama, gossip and events that unfolded with it. Among a flurry of news pertaining to the award winners, red carpet looks and *that* opening monologue from a certain comedian, was a series of speculative articles, TikToks and general online analysis relating to the content of our favourite celebrities' private conversations.

Footage of Selena Gomez seemingly spilling the tea to long-time bestie Taylor Swift went viral as amateur lip readers across the globe rushed to translate – and spread rumours – about what the women were discussing. Similarly, clips of an exchange between high-profile Hollywood couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski on the red carpet did the internet rounds as fans postulated a discussion of divorce between the pair.

While both Gomez and Blunt have since responded to the allegations by said lip readers, it begs the question: is lip reading a credible source for celebrity gossip? Following discussions last year on the ethics of recording and exposing private conversations between strangers on the internet, the lip reading-induced drama at the Golden Globes has raised further discourse as to whether these ethics extend to our favourite stars.  

Okay, let’s back up a bit. What actually went down at the Golden Globes? The first victims of the lip reading scandals, of course, were Gomez and Swift. A viral video of the Only Murders in the Building star hushedly sharing gossip with a seemingly shocked Swift and her guest, Keleigh Teller, had internet sleuths and self-proclaimed lip reading experts alike translating the moment for eager viewers. 

Rumours that Gomez asked Wonka actor Timothée Chalamet for a photo together that was denied by his date, reality star Kylie Jenner, spread like wildfire online as fans pitted the two women against each other and rushed to choose sides in the alleged drama. However, the Rare Beauty founder was quick to shut down the rumour mill. Under an Instagram post by E! News reporting on the incident, Gomez responded by commenting “Noooooo I told Taylor about two of my friends who hooked up. Not that that’s anyone business”. A source close to the star reaffirmed this statement, telling People magazine that Gomez was “absolutely not referencing anything about Timothée or Kylie” and “never even saw or spoke to them”.

But the lip reading allegations didn’t stop there. A second viral video from the awards night showed Oppenheimer actor Emily Blunt and her husband, The Office star John Krasinski chatting while posing on the red carpet. While the clip is mostly inaudible, lip readers claim Krasinski states “I can’t wait to get a divorce … I’m serious”. Blunt’s solo attendance at the Governor’s Awards the following night only added fuel to the fire of the divorce rumours. 

However, things were soon set straight by an insider who told Us Weekly that there are no issues with the couple, adding that they were “absolutely not talking about divorce” and think the rumours are “funny and ridiculous”. The pair then reunited on the red carpet the following week at the Critics Choice Awards, appearing as happy and in love as ever. 

According to experienced lip reader and lip reading teacher Dr Mary Allen, the practice of lip reading can be “fairly accurate” and holds merit as an information source. While lip reading is commonly used as a way for those with hearing disabilities to understand speech and conversations, it’s also called upon for legal matters and police investigations. 

Dr Allen notes that although a professional or expert lip reader can understand “almost the same as a person actually hearing the conversation”, it poses an ethical quandary when used for scandalous, invasive or gossiping purposes. “Private conversations are exactly that – private,” Dr Allen tells Refinery29 Australia. “If you think about it, would you want everyone to know what your private conversations are?”

However, she adds that in situations where a private conversation might be of danger to a person or to the public, safety overrides privacy and ethical concerns, and lip reading can prove a valuable asset.

“In my opinion, the only valid reasons for ever doing lip reading interpretations for the media or an individual would be for clearing a person’s name … to clear up the circumstances and any misleading perceptions; slander, libel or defamation, in other words,” says Dr Allen. “Truth is needed to keep the lies away and preserve one’s reputation.”

A few months ago, the internet was (once again) divided over the ethics of exposing private conversations online for the purpose of bringing justice to the subject of gossip or playing the moral hero. In a trend on TikTok, several users posted videos divulging details of conversations overheard in public in an attempt to let the subject of the conversation in on what was being said about them. Discussions quickly circulated as people debated whether this exposure was a noble act or a cry for praise, and whether gossip is inherently dishonourable. 

Speaking to Refinery29 Australia, Monash University Professor of Communications Ethics Dr Elizabeth Coleman, co-author of the research study Privacy and The Public Interest, explains that broadcasting private conversations online contributes to “surveillance culture”. 

“Gossip is a form of news, and you do want to be careful about what you gossip about and you should be,” Dr Coleman says. “But we also don’t have to think of it as inherently evil. The idea of broadcasting (gossip) in order to make a moral point is putting people in the context of surveillance culture, and it’s surveillance culture where people are consistently making moralistic judgements about each other and it becomes very puritanical. It is worrying that people use social media in this way.”

The desire to determine the intimate details of our favourite stars’ conversations, whereabouts and relationships can also be attributed to the parasocial relationship we have with celebrities and the belief that we’re entitled to this information. But at the end of the day, if we can gossip with our besties or chat privately with our partners, why can’t they? 

“Should a group of friends be able to go out to the Golden Globes and have a private conversation? Yes!” says Dr Coleman. “Of course the whole thing is a publicity event so it’s a complex relationship that celebrities have (with the public), but I do think we need to be mindful of the invasion of their space.” 

She adds that the parasocial relationship people have with celebrities and an interest in them as a person in addition to their professional work is often generated by the media. “Part of their status is about this interest in them as media personalities. People feel they are one level removed from (celebrities), and that because they’re media personalities, they can be attacked or they can’t be hurt.”

Luckily, both Gomez and Blunt showed a united front as good sports and came together to respond to their respective viral moments at the American Film Institute Awards. The pair posed by covering their mouths in a cheeky photo later shared to Gomez’s Instagram story with the caption “we shall not speak lol”.