1776Reporting
Mark Laita, the filmmaker behind the Soft White Underbelly YouTube channel, has spent years documenting the lives of the Whittaker family—dubbed “America’s most inbred family.” However, after several years of working with them, Laita recently announced that he’s cutting ties with the family, citing deceit and manipulation as his reasons.
Laita has been following the Whittakers since 2020, bringing their story to the public eye. One of the central figures in his documentaries was Larry Whittaker, a 67-year-old family member known for his limited verbal communication, often speaking through grunts and barks. Earlier this year, it was reported that Larry had passed away due to a suspected heart attack. Laita launched a fundraising effort to cover Larry’s funeral costs, collecting $1,000 from his followers to help the family.
However, things took a bizarre turn when Larry, who was supposed to be deceased, appeared alive in one of Laita’s new videos titled “The Death of Larry Whittaker.” In the video, Larry is seen sitting on his porch, talking about the rumors of his death. Laita was blindsided by the revelation. He had handed over the funeral funds to Larry’s daughter, BJ, who apologized once the truth surfaced. Despite the strange situation, Laita chose to forgive her at that point.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama. Shortly after, Laita provided an additional $700 to help Larry move BJ to North Carolina, hoping she could have a fresh start away from her troubled family. Once again, Laita was betrayed. He later discovered that Larry never took BJ anywhere and had likely kept the money for himself. Laita’s trust in the family began to unravel as he found out about this deception.
In a Spring 2024 update video, Laita sat down with Jason Whittaker, Larry’s cousin, who admitted to being in rehab and not even clean during their interview. Jason seemed to be the only person willing to tell Laita the truth. “You’re the only person who’s honest with me in this family,” Laita said during the conversation. As Laita reflected on his time with the family, he added, “You know BJ’s lying to me, Betty’s lying to me, Larry’s lying to me, and I called up Kenneth, the one person I thought was honest with me…”
Laita’s frustrations grew when he detailed how Larry had asked for money to move BJ but never followed through. “After our last video, Larry called me and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to take BJ to North Carolina,’ and he asked for $700. I told him, ‘As long as you’re taking your daughter to North Carolina to get her away from your family, I can continue my relationship with you guys, but I don’t want to be involved if everyone’s lying to me.’ Larry said, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna take her tonight.'”
Yet, using his own methods to verify the situation, Laita discovered that BJ never left and Kenneth had also lied to him. Laita’s disillusionment with the entire family became apparent. “Now I know even Kenneth is lying to me. They’re all lying to me, so I’m done with them,” he declared.
Jason, who seemed to understand Laita’s predicament, agreed with his decision, responding, “I don’t blame you.”
Laita questioned Jason about the future of the family, expressing his doubts that BJ would ever leave the family dynamic as long as there was a chance of financial gain. “I don’t think BJ’s ever going to leave if there’s a possible source of money, which they think there is, but I’m done with them,” he said. Jason acknowledged the bleak outlook, replying, “It doesn’t look very good.”
Reflecting on his experiences, Laita noted that the family had been receiving state benefits long before he began documenting them. “They were all getting money from the state before I even came into the picture,” he explained, highlighting the family’s reliance on outside assistance. He added, “I don’t know what to do with them other than just walk away.” Jason agreed, advising, “That’s the best thing to do, just wash your hands of them.”
The Whittakers, living in Odd, West Virginia, are descended from generations of inbreeding, starting when identical twin brothers Henry and John’s children married. This lineage has resulted in several family members being born with severe disabilities, including Larry, whose parents were also part of the inbreeding cycle.
As Laita moves forward, it seems his time documenting this family has reached its end. Though he brought the Whittakers’ story to a global audience, the filmmaker has ultimately chosen to distance himself from the family after discovering repeated deceptions.
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