During Sunday night’s episode of The Voice Australia, the coaches were left baffled when contestant Andy Dexterity performed in sign language for his blind audition.
And now fans of the show have hit out at Andy, saying that he’s using Auslan or Australian Sign Language for ‘fame.’
One woman, who said that Auslan was her first language, slammed Andy on Facebook and said that a promotional video that he appears in for the show is an ‘absolute disgrace.’
‘It’s absolute disgrace’: Fans slammed The Voice’s Andy Dexterity (pictured) this week for using sign language during the blind auditions on Sunday and accused him of doing it for ‘fame’
On Monday, the woman shared a lengthy post on Facebook.
‘If the performance by Andy wasn’t bad enough, this video is an absolute disgrace,’ her post began.
‘I’m not as eloquent as some of my friends however I am absolutely disgusted with how he has gone about this.’
‘He’s a joke!’ One woman, who said that Auslan was her first language, slammed Andy on Facebook and said that a promotional video that he appears in for the show is an ‘absolute disgrace’
Scathing: ‘He is using Auslan, my first language – the language that I have used from birth as a prop to get himself ahead and for fame but at what cost to the community?’ she wrote
‘He is using Auslan, my first language – the language that I have used from birth as a prop to get himself ahead and for fame but at what cost to the community?’
She added that there were ‘a lot of upset people in the community tonight and this just adds insult to injury.’
She went on to call Andy a ‘joke.’
‘He does not speak for for the deaf community and will never have a right to. Andy Dexterity is a joke.’
In the video, Andy demonstrated some of the signs of Auslan and the translations.
‘I picked up sign language really quickly with my background in theatre and dance and it’s interesting because there’s so much untapped potential in body language. I was like ”why isn’t sign language everywhere?” he says in the clip.
Hitting out: Underneath the post, some people called out Andy, with one saying: ‘He has no idea what the deaf go through day to day’
‘Five per cent of the world that rely on sign language to interact with the rest of the world – these people have no access to the world of music or television unless it is translated.’
‘So a big part of my job is to include more people in every moment of art so it’s a shared experience of community, not just the privileged few.’
Underneath the post, some people called out Andy, with one saying: ‘He has no idea what the deaf go through day to day.’
Another added: ‘Beyond words!! NFW (No f**king way)!! He cannot get away with this!!???’
Another remarked: ‘Very sorry to hear this man is causing such distress and unrest.’
One fan said that Andy isn’t ‘using Auslan.’
Making headlines: During Sunday’s show, Andy performed John Lennon’s timeless hit Imagine in Auslan (Australian Sign Language), the language of the Australian Deaf Community, for his Blind Audition
During Sunday’s show, Andy performed John Lennon’s timeless hit Imagine in Auslan (Australian Sign Language), the language of the Australian Deaf Community, for his Blind Audition.
However, the inclusive audition first proved to be confusing for all of the coaches, until they eventually turned around to see why there was no singing.
As the music started and Kelly Rowland, Guy Sebastian, Boy George and Delta Goodrem heard no vocals, they first thought the act was too nervous.
They then whispered that they may have been playing an instrument instead.
Andy sang several lines of the song towards the end of the audition, prompting all of the coaches to turn around, despite still being slightly baffled.
‘I was a bit confused, if I’m honest. I thought that maybe you were too scared to come on… I couldn’t see what was happening,’ explained Guy afterwards.
Shocked: As the music started and Kelly Rowland, Guy Sebastian (pictured), Boy George and Delta Goodrem heard no vocals, they first thought the act was too nervous
‘All I could see was every single person in the audience saying turn around.’
Andy then explained that he’d performed in Auslan, and why he chose to do so.
He said: ‘Five percent of the world’s population don’t have access to the average hearing range. That is like 466 million people that haven’t heard your favourite song.
‘When you share a song with someone and you both know the words, there are so many people that don’t have that feeling.
‘But you can find a doorway to that magic [though sign] and open it somewhat.’
Delta surprised her co-stars by asking Andy ‘how are you?’ in Auslan.
‘I started learning sign language when I was quite young because I’ve always loved, with all of my heart, wanting to communicate with everybody,’ she said.
‘And making sure everybody can be heard and we can speak to each other. This is representing a part of community that we haven’t represented, which is so exciting.’
Away from The Voice, Andy has appeared on The Wiggles and is close friends with Emma Watkins, also known as Yellow Wiggle.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Nine for comment, in relation to this article.
Interesting! Delta surprised her co-stars by asking Andy ‘how are you?’ in Auslan