How to watch the Whittaker Family documentary – is it on Netflix?

The Whittaker family documentary gained traction on YouTube for its unflinching portrayal of “America’s most inbred family”, but is it available to watch anywhere else?

YouTube has become a major player in the documentary game. You only need to look at the Schoolboy 9 video to see how vastly these exposé-style videos can reach.

Thanks to the format, YouTube docs can touch on major topics most streamers wouldn’t even consider, and one such instance is Soft White Underbelly’s Whittaker Family portrait.

Here’s how you can watch the Whittaker family documentary, along with details on what the video series actually explores.

Where to watch the Whittaker Family documentary

Right now, you can watch Inbred Family – The Whittakers on YouTube for free.

The original “documentary” is still available to watch now.

The 12-minute video was originally posted by Mark Laita, aka Soft White Underbelly. According to the channel’s own biography, photographer Laita produces “interviews and portraits of the human condition.”

YouTube/Soft White Underbelly

The video was originally uploaded on July 2, 2020, and has since accumulated over 43 million views on the platform.

Since then, Soft White Underbelly has created 17 videos in total about the Whittaker family, from spending Christmas with them to covering the death of family member Larry Whittaker.

Is it on Netflix?

Inbred Family: The Whittakers isn’t on Netflix – it’s just a 12-minute video that lives on YouTube.

It’s not available on any mainstream streaming services, for that matter. However, the entire Whittaker documentary collection is available to watch for free on YouTube.

What’s it about?

Inbred Family: The Whittakers is Mark Laita’s exploration of the Whittaker family, also known as “America’s most inbred family”, who live in Odd, West Virginia.

Laita first came across the family when he was photographing them for his 2004 book, Created Equal. After encountering an aggressively protective neighbor, Laita would take two portraits of the family and later returned several times to shoot further images.

On one visit, he recorded footage of the family, resulting in the documentary.

When describing his first visit with the family, Laita said [via Koncrete KLIPS podcast]: “It was like that little scene from Deliverance that everyone knows.

YouTube/Soft White Underbelly

“We came around to this road, which turns into a country road, which turns into a dirt road, and we come to this trailer and then a little shack on the other side of the road. There’s these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us.”

“And then one guy, you would look at 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 – the craziest thing I have ever seen.”

According to Laita, the Whittakers are protected by neighbors, who make attempts to stop unfriendly visitors from mocking the family. When Laita first met the Whittakers, he discovered they were a group of siblings living in a shack in the backcountry, along with several dogs.

YouTube/Soft White Underbelly

The family, some of whom are only able to communicate with grunts or other noises, appear to have a variety of physical conditions. Laita was granted permission to take their portraits and remained in touch with the family for years after their initial meeting.

The documentary includes interviews with family members Betty, Lorraine, Ray, and Timmy.

“There is no way I would be able to confirm that the Whitaker parents were related, but given that this does happen in this part of the country and the Whitakers are the most extreme case I’ve seen so far,” Laita explained.

“I would bet that inbreeding was at least partly responsible for the mental and physical abnormalities seen in Lorraine, Freddie, Ray, and Timmy.”

In a later encounter, Betty confirmed their parents to be double first cousins.

Alongside the documentary, Laita also helped the Whittakers start a fundraising campaign for repairs to their home.

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