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Actress Marlee Matlin slammed CBS on social media after the television network did not show the American Sign Language (ASL) Artists during the live broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII.
The Super Bowl pregame show at Allegiant Stadium featured performances by Andra Day, Post Malone and Reba McEntire. An ASL interpreter accompanied each artist.
Daniel Durant performed the National Anthem in ASL with McEntire, while Anjel Piñero signed Malone’s “America the Beautiful.” Shaheem Sanchez worked with Day on her performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and performed the ASL halftime show.
However, according to Matlin, CBS did not show deaf performers even once on television.
“I am absolutely SHOCKED by @CBS for featuring the deaf performers at today’s pregame #SuperBowl and then not showing a second (or more) of their performance… as has been the tradition for the last 30 years. BECAUSE!?” Matlin published in X.
Representatives for CBS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
“Totally agree,” one user responded below the post. “@CBS, you have the technology. USE IT to uphold your ‘company values’ as an inclusive organization, or is it just on paper? Because how hard is it to present ASL interpreters on screen?”
“I think it was absolutely ridiculous to feature and not show the artists,” another user wrote. “We could all learn a lot from watching them and we know they could easily split the screen to show both at the same time!”
Matlin was the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award. She has been an advocate for the deaf community throughout her career, calling out companies for their lack of accessibility through social media.