The Awesome Story Behind Why Ryan Coogler Casually Brought ASL Into His Oscars Acceptance Speech
The Oscars took place last Sunday March 15 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, and the nominee with the most buzz was, of course, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The critically acclaimed vampire flick received a record setting 16 nominations at the 98th Academy Awards. Both Coogler and frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan received their first Oscar wins during the live event. Some viewers noticed the Black Panther director using American Sign Language during his acceptance speech, and there’s an awesome story as to why Coogler casually used the signing language throughout the night.
After some unexpected Golden Globe snubs, audiences were rooting for a Sinners sweep at the 2026 Academy Awards. While it fell short to One Battle After Another for Best Picture, Sinners took home Oscars in four other major categories: Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Every time one of his collaborators took the stage, the camera would pan to Coogler, who would casually flash ASL signs for “I love you” and “Thank you.”
This was not lost on many viewers at home. Filmmaker @chrissymarshall_ on TikTok, compiled the Fruitvale Station director’s use of ASL at the Oscars, commenting how much him normalizing ASL on stage meant to her as a member of the Deaf community:
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What may seem like a random decision actually has a lot of meaning behind it, revealed via Huff Post, as his wife and co-producer Zinzi Coogler is a certified ASL interpreter. The Hollywood power couple met as teenagers, but started dating in college, where Zinzi got her degree in communicative sciences and deaf studies, according to Marie Claire. Before co-founding Proximity Media with her husband and their creative partner Sev Ohanian, she worked as an ASL interpreter for the nonprofit Deaf Counseling, Advocacy & Referral Agency.
While the Cooglers have never confirmed having Deaf family members, they clearly are closely involved with and fierce advocates of the Deaf community. The Sinners director’s public use of ASL at the Oscars might have surprised some, but longtime fans of Coogler’s know this is not a one off.
The producing duo have been longtime proponents of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing representation in film. The Creed franchise, created by Coogler, includes a HOH storyline for Tessa Thompson’s character, Bianca, that progresses across all three movies. In Creed III, Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut, Adonis and Bianca’s daughter is deaf, played by Deaf actress Mila Davis-Kent. The story told does not revolve around these characters’ deafness, but their struggles and successes in a predominantly hearing world are a huge part of the narrative and Adonis Creed’s journey.
Storylines like this, and the casual use of ASL at the Oscars by people who are involved with the Deaf community like the Cooglers, are important to increasing awareness of ASL and Deaf people, says Deaf creator @notlenavernice on Tiktok.
I think one of Ryan Coogler’s greatest accomplishments as a filmmaker is his ability to seamlessly include marginalized individuals, without it ever feeling forced or performative. Zinzi Coogler told Marie Claire that she and her husband’s careers are always intertwined with each other’s, leading them to “lean into stories about communities that are underrepresented, but in a way that shows that complexity and vibrancy and joy in life.”
Ryan Coogler’s ASL use at the Academy Awards is a great reminder for Hollywood creatives and audiences that inclusivity of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals in Hollywood doesn’t stop post-CODA Best Picture win. While Sinners did not have any Deaf or HOH characters, the Academy Award-nominated film is the first movie to stream with a Black American Sign Language version, available to watch with an HBO Max subscription.
I seriously love the Cooglers’ dedication to normalizing ASL, in both their professional and personal lives. Coogler has quickly become one of my favorite filmmakers of this decade due to his incredible talent and his steadfast down-to-earth values, a rare combination in Hollywood. His Oscar win was well deserved, and I’m excited to see what he does next with upcoming projects, including Black Panther 3 and an X-Files reboot.
