{"id":10142,"date":"2024-08-03T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-03T16:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twistkoala.com\/?p=10142"},"modified":"2024-08-03T16:59:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T16:59:02","slug":"mark-laitas-issues-warning-over-americas-most-inbred-family-the-whittakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/mark-laitas-issues-warning-over-americas-most-inbred-family-the-whittakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Who Made America\u2019s Most Inbred Family Famous Has Warning For Anyone Trying To Visit Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The man who made America\u2019s most inbred family famous has warned\u00a0people against visiting them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Whittakers, of Odd, West Virginia, have been documented by filmmaker Mark Laita for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family has a unique way of communicating \u2013 they are known to grunt, bark, and use gestures instead of words or sign language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, in a recent update on the Whittakers, Laita has shared some important advice for anyone curious to meet them.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Whittakers are known to bark, grunt, and use gestures to communicate. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Laita first encountered the Whittakers in 2004 when he met family members Ray, Betty, Kenneth, Timmy, and Lorene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

His initial visit was met with hostility from protective neighbors. They were armed with shotguns and wary of outsiders ridiculing the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this challenging start, Laita persevered and gained the family\u2019s trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The filmmaker photographed the Whitakers for his book \u2018Created Equal,\u2019 which explores diverse American cultures and backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, he revisited the family to deepen his understanding of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Whittakers, who live in an isolated area, are protected by neighbors. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In an interview on the Koncrete KLIPS Podcast<\/a><\/em>, Laita recounted his experiences with the Whittakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He vividly described scenes of the family members, noting misaligned eyes and exhibitions of erratic behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like that little scene from Deliverance<\/em> that everyone knows. We came around to this road, which turns into a country road, which turns into a dirt road,\u201d the filmmaker recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen we come to this trailer and then a little shack on the other side of the road. And there\u2019s these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd then one guy, you would look him in the eye or say anything and he would just scream and go running away, and his pants would fall around his ankles, and he would go running off and go and kick a garbage can. And this would happen over and over. It was out of control \u2013 the craziest thing I have ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mark Laita has documented the Whittakers for several years. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The filmmaker also acknowledged the difficulty in determining the extent of inbreeding within the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no way I would be able to confirm that the Whittaker parents were related, but given that this does happen in this part of the country and the Whittakers are the most extreme case I\u2019ve seen so far,\u201d Laita said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would bet that inbreeding was at least partly responsible for the mental and physical abnormalities seen in [siblings] Lorraine, Freddie, Ray, and [cousin] Timmy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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America\u2019s most inbred family has been documented on the YouTube channel Soft White Underbelly. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Whittakers became beneficiaries of two fundraising campaigns organized through Laita\u2019s YouTube channel Soft White Underbelly<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, recent developments<\/a> have led to a breakdown in the relationship between Laita and the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A significant controversy arose when YouTuber Tyler Oliveira uploaded a video investigating the \u2018poorest region of America,\u2019 which included an interview with the Whittakers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Betty Whittaker claimed to a famous YouTuber that she didn\u2019t know what had happened to the money raised for her family. Credit: Tyler Oliveira via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Betty Whittaker claimed ignorance about the whereabouts of the money raised for her family in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This statement deeply upset Laita, who felt he was being portrayed as a money-grabbing scammer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vehemently defending his actions, the filmmaker stated: \u201cLook at the Whittakers; their lives have improved greatly since I came into it, and that\u2019s because I came through for them every time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Laita claims the family has regularly asked for thousands of dollars at a time, with the exact use of these funds remaining unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Filmmaker Mark Laita has discontinued his fundraisers for the Whittakers. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Laita released a Soft White Underbelly<\/em> video<\/a> addressing the allegations directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The filmmaker showed screenshots of money transfers and announced his decision to discontinue his fundraisers for the Whittakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Before cutting ties, Laita contacted Betty to ensure she understood he hadn\u2019t withheld any funds. Her seemingly confused response only added to his frustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another scandal involving the Whittakers emerged earlier this year when Larry Whittaker was falsely reported dead.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Larry Whittaker (pictured above) was falsely reported dead earlier this year. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Laita announced Larry\u2019s supposed death on his YouTube channel, citing relatives who claimed he had died of a heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a later date, it would be revealed that Larry was alive and unaware of the rumors about his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

In a subsequent video<\/a>, he appeared alongside his daughter who admitted to lying about his death to obtain money \u2013 she had been given $1,000 for Larry\u2019s \u2018funeral.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She expressed remorse over the lie as she puffed on a cigarette, saying: \u201cI shouldn\u2019t have done it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to get help for my drug addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Whittaker family has been at the center of numerous scandals. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The situation escalated further when the filmmaker gave Larry $700, with the understanding that he would use the money to take his daughter to North Carolina to start a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laita clarified that his relationship with the Whittakers was contingent on this plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Yet it would soon be alleged that Larry had kept the money without following through on the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laita would air his frustrations over the situation in a chat with Larry\u2019s cousin, which has been documented<\/a> on Soft White Underbelly<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do with them other than just walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Mark Laita is warning people not to visit the Whittaker family. Credit: Soft White Underbelly via YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Laita is now cautioning others against replicating his documentary work with the Whittakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says the family is unlikely to deliver a warm reception to visitors, adding: \u201cThey are kind of protected by the neighbors and the relatives [who] don\u2019t like these people coming to ridicule them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, pastor William Plumley tells the Daily Mail<\/a>: \u201cI think the documentary about them is good and bad, good because it has helped them. But also it\u2019s brought a lot of people to the area who just want to mess with them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who made America\u2019s most inbred family famous has warned\u00a0people against visiting them. The Whittakers, of Odd, West Virginia, have been documented by filmmaker Mark Laita for two decades. The family has a unique way of communicating \u2013 they are known to grunt, bark, and use gestures instead of words or sign language. And<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-viral"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserver.pw\/twistkoala.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}