Deaf Hollywood actress reacts in shock to 'fake' interpreter

Cape Town – It’s been making headlines throughout the world and has caused outrage in the deaf community.

As leaders and heads of state from around the world eulogised the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela at a memorial service in Johannesburg on Tuesday, a man standing just a couple of feet away, who was supposed to be translating the speeches into sign language, was instead making a repetitive series of completely meaningless gestures with his hands.

Dubbed  Fake-Sign-Language Man the interpreter has shamed South Africa at a time when the whole country is in mourning.

Experts revealed that Fake-Sign-Language Man wasn’t doing any real interpreting at all but was rather “just waving his arms around”. 

CNN approached Oscar-winning deaf actress Marlee Matlin to ask what her thoughts were when she first saw the man on TV.