She’s Deaf But Loves Taylor Swift — Taylor Signs ‘I Love You’ During Concert
Maya Rodriguez was born profoundly deaf. She’d never heard music — not a single note in her 19 years of life — but she loved Taylor Swift anyway.
She learned about Taylor through reading lyrics, watching music videos with captions, and feeling the beat through bass vibrations when her hearing friends played songs in the car.
When the Eras Tour was announced, Maya’s mom asked, “Do you want to go even though you can’t hear?”
Maya smiled and signed, “I want to feel it. I want to feel the vibrations. I want to see Taylor. I want to be part of it.”
They got tickets for the August 15th, 2024 show in Seattle. Maya made a sign: “I’m deaf. I feel the music through vibrations.”
Security saw the sign and moved Maya to the very front row, right against the stage barrier where the bass would be strongest.
During the concert, Taylor was running along the front of the stage engaging with fans when she noticed Maya — a young woman signing to her mom, holding a sign that said she was deaf.
Taylor stopped. She knelt down at the edge of the stage and signed “I love you” in American Sign Language.
Maya burst into tears. The crowd around her realized what was happening — and cheered.
After the show, Taylor’s team found Maya and brought her backstage. Taylor had learned basic ASL phrases just for this meeting.
They spent an hour together — signing, laughing, crying. Taylor said through an interpreter,
“Music isn’t just sound. It’s feeling. And you feel it more than anyone.”
The video of Taylor signing “I love you” went viral, reaching over 500 million views.
Maya had been born with no hearing at all — no muffled sounds, no faint echoes, just complete silence.
Growing up in Portland, Oregon, she attended a school for the deaf. Her mom, Carmen, was hearing but learned ASL fluently when Maya was a baby. Maya had a strong sense of identity, a supportive community — and an endless curiosity about music.
She saw how hearing people reacted to songs: crying, dancing, connecting. When she was 14, her hearing best friend, Jessica, introduced her to Taylor Swift.
“I know you can’t hear the music,” Jessica said, signing as she spoke. “But you can read the lyrics — and Taylor’s lyrics are like poetry.”
Jessica pulled up All Too Well on her phone with captions on. Maya read along, and her life changed.
The lyrics — “autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place” — felt like poetry that transcended sound.
From that day forward, Maya became a proud Swifty.
She read every lyric, watched every video with captions, analyzed the cinematography, and felt vibrations through speakers and car doors. She couldn’t hear Taylor’s voice, but she felt her words.
When the Eras Tour finally arrived in 2024, Maya and her mom made it to the stadium. Their seats were decent — 30 rows back. But the bass vibrations were faint.
During a break, Carmen found a security guard and explained that her daughter was deaf and felt music through vibrations.
Moments later, the guard smiled and said, “Follow me.”
He led them down to the front row — right against the metal barrier where the sound waves hit hardest.
The next song started: Don’t Blame Me. The bass shook the ground. Maya pressed her hands to the barrier — and for the first time, she felt the full force of music.
She started to cry. Her mom asked if she could feel it. Maya signed back, “Yes. I’m feeling it.”
Then came You Belong With Me.
As Taylor ran along the stage, she saw Maya’s sign — and stopped.
She walked over, knelt, looked right at Maya, and lifted her hand to sign “I love you.”
Maya broke down. Taylor smiled, pointed to her heart, then to Maya — you are seen, you are loved.
Carmen filmed the whole moment through tears.
After the concert, a security member approached them:
“Are you Maya? Taylor wants to meet you backstage.”
They were led through the tunnels until Taylor appeared, dressed simply in a hoodie and jeans.
She smiled and signed, “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
Through the interpreter, Taylor told Maya, “You experience music in such a unique way. You reminded me that music isn’t just sound — it’s feeling.”
For an hour, they talked, learned signs, and shared stories. Taylor gave Maya a signed guitar that read:
“To Maya — Music is feeling. And you feel it more than anyone. Love, Taylor.”
The video of that moment went viral worldwide. CNN ran the headline:
“Taylor Swift Signs ‘I Love You’ to Deaf Fan During Eras Tour.”
Good Morning America featured Maya’s story:
“Deaf Swifty Experiences Music Through Vibrations.”
The deaf community embraced Maya. She became a symbol of how music transcends hearing.
In an interview later, Maya said through an interpreter:
“People ask me how I can love music if I can’t hear it. But music is story, emotion, rhythm, connection. I experience all of that — just differently.”
Taylor herself later reflected:
Maya reminded me that music is universal — but deeply personal. Everyone feels it in their own way.”
Two years later, in 2026, Maya enrolled in college to study deaf education. She cited meeting Taylor Swift as a turning point.
“She made me realize that being deaf isn’t a limitation. It’s a different way of experiencing the world.”
And hanging in her dorm room — above her desk — was that same signed guitar, with the words:
“Music is feeling. And you feel it more than anyone.”
A reminder that sometimes, the most powerful music is the kind you can’t hear — but can feel with your whole heart.
