Topics: YouTube, Social Media, GoFundMe, News, US News
America's 'most inbred family' have issued an apology to the man who uncovered them.
Photographer Mark Laita stumbled upon the Whittaker family two decades ago, but didn't immediately start to document their lives.
Mark kept in touch with them and returned to their home in Odd, West Virginia, to start the filming process in 2020.
The family's made up of three siblings called Lorraine, Timmy and Ray, whose parents were reportedly first cousins.
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Afte the family's debut on Laita's Soft White Underbelly YouTube page, the Whittakers - who have been dubbed as the 'most inbred family' in the US - went on to receive masses of attention.
While Mark had a good relationship with them, he vowed to cut ties after discovering they'd been lying to him.
The Whittakers said that 67-year-old Larry Whittaker had died earlier this year, and Mark went on to help them fundraise for the funeral and even donated $1,000 of his own money.
But Larry wasn't dead at all. When he realized this, the family apologized for their deception, but they went on to lie to Mark once more.
The photographer had handed over $700 to Larry who had promised to use the money to take his daughter BJ to North Carolina to start a new life.
He never did this though, and simply kept the cash for himself.
But, despite saying he wasn't going to see the Whittakers anymore, Mark paid them a visit over the summer which he documented and uploaded to YouTube this month.
In the video he captures the moment Larry comes up to shake his hand and apologizes for everything that had happened.
"It's been a long time," he says to Mark. "I'm sorry for what they've done to you and I want to tell the whole world that I'm sorry for what they done."
Mark graciously accepts his apology and later admits that he'd missed them.
"I'm very good at forgiving and understanding," he said. "I've missed you guys, I think a lot of my viewers have missed you guys too."
He further joked that the Whittakers had probably 'missed the money' they'd get from featuring on his YouTube channel.
Now he's back on speaking terms with the family Mark has set up another GoFundMe for them in late August.
At the time of writing the page has received just over $600 dollars of its $100,000 target has been raised.
The money will go towards helping the family with living expenses and maintaining their home.
