Those who have a lisp often get embarrassed by the way they speak. The speech disorder, which is categorized by a person’s struggle to articular proper letter sounds correctly, affects thousands of people and can usually be treated by a speech therapist. But while many try hard to get rid of the vocal impediment, others embraced the thing that made them different and actually used it to benefit them in the long run.
You may think that all celebrities have “perfect” public-speaking abilities, but that really isn’t true. In fact, many of your favorite stars proudly speak with a lisp. Some of the following (Drew Barrymore) are basically known known for the impediment, while others’ (Calum Hood) are so subtle that they’re hard to even notice.
Calum Hood
We're not sure if it's because of his thick Australian accent, or his tendency to mumble when he speaks, but this 5SOS guys' lisp is one of those 'blink and you miss it' kind of things. But while YOU may not have noticed Calum's speech impediment, true 5 Seconds of Summer fans say it's one of his traits that they love the most! "Calum's lisp is life," one fan tweeted. "I FINALLY HEARD CALUM'S LISP LIVE I FEEL SO ALIVE," another wrote. See? Told you!
Photo: WENN
Tyler Oakley
Although Tyler's speech impediment is actually "an extended s," he gets hate for it all. the. time. One day, after receiving particularly harsh comments for his "lisp" on one of his videos, the YouTube star tweeted, "Making fun of my lisp makes you pretty sad. Mocking something I've had since I learned to talk is really scraping the bottom of the barrel." PREACH!
Photo: Instagram
Bailee Madison
If you saw Bailee Madison as May Belle Aarons in Bridge to Terabithia, you'll remember her as the adorable smiley little girl with a cute AF lisp. As the actress got older, her lisp got less and less severe, but every now and then you can still hear the 'th' sound come out in place of an 'ssss.'
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Ricky Dillon
Ricky's lisp is one of the things he gets made fun of most in his YouTube videos (we know — SO messed up). But as it turns out, his lisp is really a result of serious dental issues and is out of his control.
"i used to have HORRIBLY messed up teeth lol," he wrote when a fan asked him about the speech impediment on Tumblr. "like they were completely shifted over really bad, so when i got braces it literally like moved my teeth over on the bottom to make them aligned, and when it did that it completely screwed up my bottom jaw so now i have to wear this splint thing at night for my jaw otherwise i get migraines and my jaw would like fall out of place or something weird idk…but anyway, the splint that i wear at night is shaped weird and it warped the back of my top teeth weird from when i first started wearing it, so that slightly screwed up my speech (making the 's' sound) which is why people think i have a 'lisp.' idk if that means i do but i technically don't naturally have one lol its just cuz i was born with screwed up teeth and jaw lol."
Photo: Instagram
Kiely Williams
When Kiely was a member of The Cheetah Girls, her lisp was very noticeable, even when she was singing. Flash forward to her 2010 song "Spectacular," however, and fans realized that her now-famous speech impediment was nowhere to be heard.
Photo: WENN
Drew Barrymore
Even though many lispers are desperate to get rid of their speech issue, Drew has turned hers into a quirky and defining personality trait. In fact, when she won a Golden Globe back in 2010, she thanked Grey Gardens' director for casting her even "with the lisp."
Photo: WENN
Reggie Bush
Kim Kardashian's ex can be found on many lists of 'Famous People With Lisps,' but it can only be heard IRL (or on TV) occasionally. The football star's speech impediment is so subtle that it's concealed very easily and you can really only notice it if you're listening specifically for it.
Photo: WENN
Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is perhaps one of the greatest swimmers of all time, and it was his lisp that actually made him fall in love with swimming in the first place. After being bullied for his speech impediment, the 22-time Olympic medalist used the pool as a way to escape. "It's kind of crazy," he said. {"When I do go up around where I used to live. you still see the same people who were picking on me. They're still around, busing tables or whatever, probably still acting the same way. They'll try to talk to me and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, why are talking to me now? You were picking on me then.'"
Photo: WENN
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson is known for being a champion boxer, which is why his high-pitched voice and lisp took people by surprise at first. The 49 year old grew up getting made fun of for his speech impediment, and was known for committing petty crimes and fighting those who teased him. In fact, he was arrested 38 times by the time he was 13. WTF!?
Photo: WENN
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