Raven Sutton finishes among top players in “The Circle”

Raven Sutton, who is a signing Deaf 26-year-old person from Maryland, made her debut onto “The Circle” not only to influence others but also to make history. As the first deaf contestant on the show, she wanted to show that people like her are more than their deafness. They can do anything.

During the social media competition series' recent finale, Raven finished in third place with Sam being the winner of this season and Chaz ranking in second place.

At the table along with other finalists, Raven thanked her castmates for accepting her deafness with open arms and explained that she had a team of four sign language interpreters and their roles in the show.

Through the game, she showed her big personality and spread positive, compassionate vibes toward others. She played the game without strategy or manipulation.

When asked at the table along with other finalists if she lied about anything, Raven responded no and that she came on the show because she wanted to see more representation of Deaf people on TV. It doesn’t have to be related to deafness, just a deaf character doing normal things. She added she doesn’t see a lot of people on TV with disabilities so she wanted to represent [Deaf] community.

Towards the end of the competition, Raven watched a video sent by her sister and friend. In the video, they shared that their parents are proud of her and looking out for her. They added to make sure you win this [game] and the Deaf community is rooting for you as you spread awareness. After the video, Raven got very emotional and stated I am happy to represent the Deaf community. This was my goal to show the world that Deaf people can do anything except hear. We are humans just like everyone else.

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Raven received a lot of outpouring of love and support from fans on her social media accounts including @bluejay19xx on Twitter. She’s answered some of the questions and comments in regard to her game plan on the show as well as the logistics of accommodations.

One of the comments noticed how “The Circle” accommodated her by captioning the farewell videos that the blocked contestants left.

She shared her responses to some of the questions in regard to accommodations. Here are two posts on her use of ASL and having an interpreter with her.

[Tweet: Yall do know that since I am the first Deaf contestant on #TheCircleNetflix that there is going to be a huge number of Deaf people watching right? Why would I play the game with just a keyboard? I’m using ASL for my community. And Paris is helping YOU understand. Simple]

[Tweet: He was there to interpret. Although I was able to share my thoughts with him, he was not able to agree or disagree or give me any insights of his opinions #TheCircleNetflix]

[Tweet: We shared apartments together. I had a two bedroom. And he was my only interpreter in the game but I had 3 other bipoc interpreters behind the scene and at the finale show since all the cast were there at once]

[Tweet: Also there’s a lot of communication happening outside of the game where I have to talk with producers and ASL interpretation is needed.]

She created videos with ASL lessons on signs related to “The Circle” show. I read through her social media posts and can see many hearing fans have started learning sign language because of her appearance on the show. She has made a big impact beyond her deafness on the show, its fanbase and specifically the Deaf community with her fun-spirited nature.

She has been on several interviews including Cameshia interviews on YouTube, Parade and Good Morning America (GMA).

That’s all for the recap from “The Circle’s” last episodes and the finale.

Raven, congratulations on playing the spectacular game and you did represent the Deaf community very well. Like your sister and friend said, we are indeed very proud of you. You are a winner in our eyes! All episodes of “The Circle” Season 5 are now available to stream on Netflix.

https://twitter.com/bluejay19xx/status/1610341709333798912?s=20&t=THL1zmPlsh9Ai5sF9sllVw

https://twitter.com/bluejay19xx/status/1609735742397321216?s=20&t=THL1zmPlsh9Ai5sF9sllVw

https://twitter.com/bluejay19xx/status/1609984601015091201?s=20&t=THL1zmPlsh9Ai5sF9sllVw

https://twitter.com/bluejay19xx/status/1610342583955234818?s=20&t=THL1zmPlsh9Ai5sF9sllVw