• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
America's 'most inbred family' apologize after the man who uncovered them revealed they’d 'been lying the whole time'

Home> News> US News

Published 11:51 22 Sep 2024 GMT+1

America's 'most inbred family' apologize after the man who uncovered them revealed they’d 'been lying the whole time'

A member of the Whittaker family has apologized to Mark Laita

Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Soft White Underbelly

Topics: YouTube, Social Media, GoFundMe, News, US News

Niamh Shackleton
Niamh Shackleton

Niamh Shackleton is an experienced journalist for UNILAD, specialising in topics including mental health and showbiz, as well as anything Henry Cavill and cat related. She has previously worked for OK! Magazine, Caters and Kennedy.

X

@niamhshackleton

Advert

Advert

Advert

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.

Advert

The family live on a farm in Odd, West Virginia (Soft White Underbelly/YouTube)
The family live on a farm in Odd, West Virginia (Soft White Underbelly/YouTube)

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.

Mark had been told that Larry - pictured - had died (Soft White Underbelly/YouTube)
Mark had been told that Larry - pictured - had died (Soft White Underbelly/YouTube)

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.

  • Man who uncovered America's 'most inbred family' says 'they've been lying to me the whole time'
  • Tesla is forcing its Chinese customers to apologize to the Elon Musk business after taking them to court
  • The most dangerous US state to travel alone has been revealed and it might surprise you
  • Man explains how much time speeding actually saves you and the results are shocking

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
    an hour ago

    The Netherlands is the only country to have eaten their leader after disturbing situation went very wrong

    Johan de Witt was the unlucky Dutch leader who reigned during the 'disaster year'

    News
  • YouTube/Anthony Joshua
    an hour ago

    Anthony Joshua pays tribute to his 'brothers' killed in car crash in emotional video

    Anthony Joshua issued a lengthy video statement on social media

    Celebrity
  • CCTV/Handout
    3 hours ago

    China executes 11 members of notorious mafia family that ran billion-dollar scam network

    The family operated a whole host of scams over more than 10 years

    News
  • Getty Stock Images
    13 hours ago

    Scientists successfully achieve 'permanent disappearance of pancreatic cancer' in new study for cure

    The Spanish team used an 'experimental' method to attack the tumors

    News