‘Famous inbred family’ The Whittakers was like ‘a scene out of Deliverance,’ filmmaker says after ‘exploitation’ claims
A FILMMAKER has described meeting a family dubbed America’s “most famous inbreds” as being like a scene from a horror movie.
Mark Laita said his first encounter with the Whittaker family reminded him of the 1972 thriller Deliverance.
He described being threatened by the family’s neighbors and receiving a police escort to their home in Odd, West Virginia.
“They are kind of protected by the neighbors and the relatives don’t like these people coming to ridicule them,” Laita said.
Deliverance sees four city dwellers attacked by locals in rural Georgia.
Speaking to the Koncrete KLIPS podcast, Laita described going from a road to a country road to a dirt track before finding their “little shack.”
He said: “There’s these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us.”
Laita said he witnessed one man “running away, and his pants would fall around his ankles.”
He added: “It was out of control – the craziest thing I have ever seen.”
The filmmaker and photographer spent time with the family, taking pictures of them for his 2004 book Created Equal.
Laita found the tight-knit family communicates in grunts, while some members have physical abnormalities.
His book brought the Whittaker family into the public eye.
Images he took show mountains of trash piled high around the house while swarms of flies buzz around.
And during his footage, one of the Whittakers gives Laita a tour of the bathroom, smeared in brown filth.
Ray and his siblings gained more public attention after Mark returned to the family’s home in 2020.
Mark filmed a video documenting his visit titled Inbred Family – The Whittakers.
His footage shows the family’s poor living conditions, which include a small run-down home and multiple pet dogs.
But he has come under criticism for “perpetuating a stereotype” by locals and two YouTubers.
When he first visited the home, an angry neighbor is said to have appeared with a shotgun, threatening to use it if Laita didn’t leave them alone.
Shane and Melody of the Real Appalachia YouTube channel also claimed that Laita “ostensibly is doing all this good work for them and raising money for them.”
But they argue that the documentary “perpetuates the stereotype that has been around for decades” relating to inbreeding in Appalachia.
“I just feel like a lot more could be done for these people,” Melody continued.
“I think he’s trying to act like he’s doing a lot for them.”
The family has confirmed their parents were double first cousins, according to Laita.
Siblings Ray and Lorraine, as well as an unnamed sister and a cousin, Timmy, make up the Whittakers.
They also had a brother named Freddie, who died from a heart attack.
Their parents have passed away.
ThoughtCo. states that inbreeding can cause defects, such as “reduced fertility, reduced birth rate, higher infant and child mortality and smaller adult size.”
These defects also include: “Increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased facial asymmetry, and Increased risk of genetic disorders.”