Black Lash of The Holderness Family Controversy Explained

The Holderness Family Controversy, also known as the “Black Lash,” refers to a debate that arose in 2018 over the 1944 holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The Holderness Family, a family of four from Raleigh, North Carolina, gained notoriety for their parodies, skits, and vlogs that focus on the family.

They have a large following on various channels, with more than 5 million subscribers and more than 1 billion views. The family attracted a lot of attention in 2013 when they uploaded “XMAS Jammies,” a parody of Will Smith’s “Miami,” which was meant to be their digital Christmas card. Later releases included Snoop Dogg’s Halloween parody “Kin and Moose,” Meghan Trainor’s Thanksgiving parody “All About That Baste,” a parody of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and a parody of Dean Martin’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that garnered more than 75 million views on Facebook.

The controversy arose when Cleveland radio station Star 102 removed the song from its Christmas playlist after a listener complained that the lyrics were inappropriate in the context of the MeToo movement. The Holderness Family Controversy sparked a debate about the song’s lyrics and the MeToo movement’s impact on popular culture.

Career

The Holderness Family gained notoriety for the first time in 2013 when they published “XMAS Jammies,” a spoof of Will Smith’s “Miami” intended to serve as the family’s electronic Christmas card. Their YouTube video gained 15 million views in one week after becoming viral overnight. Ever since they have produced videos.

Later releases included Snoop Dogg’s Halloween parody “Kin and Moose,” Meghan Trainor’s Thanksgiving parody “All About That Baste,” a parody of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” and a parody of Dean Martin’s “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” that garnered more than 75 million views on Facebook.

When COVID -19 hit in 2020, they created several popular parodies and skits, including a Hamilton medley about putting on a mask and a Frozen parody called “It’s Vaccination Day” to promote vaccinations.

Each year during the holidays they added over 300 more parodies, while also releasing a new set of “XMAS Jammies”. In their sub-channel “Holderness Family Vlogs”, Kim has also participated in several popular skits, such as “When Rona Won’t Leave”,” “The New Normal” and “Every Hallmark Movie Ever”

The Holderness Family has made several appearances on Right This Minute as well as The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, CNN, HLN, and CBS This Morning on broadcast television.

The Holderness Family on UPTV, The 12 Foods of Christmas on The Food Network, and The Greatest Holiday Video Countdown on The CW are a few of their full-length programs.

Private life

Kim Dean Holderness was a ballroom dancer born and raised in Sarasota, Florida. She attended the University of Florida and danced for the Dazzlers, a group that performed at sporting events.

In 1998, she earned a degree in telecommunications. She worked as a television reporter in Florida until she joined Inside Edition in New York City from 2004 to 2008.

Penn Holderness was raised by a public school teacher and a Presbyterian minister in Durham, North Carolina. He attended Governor’s School of North Carolina (East) boarding school, where he studied choral music and played basketball before graduating from Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham. He is a member of the Governor’s School Foundation Board of Directors.

The Holderness Family Debate

There were conflicting reactions when Kim and Penn Holderness, a couple who had previously worked as journalists in New York City, began producing amusing content during the COVID-19 lockdown to brighten people’s spirits. Kim and her husband both co-wrote their viral hits, “New Normal in Quarantine” and “Gimme Six Feet (Physical Distancing Remix).”

When charges of sexual misconduct against former N.B.C. anchor Matt Lauer first surfaced, the Holderness family offered their opinions. Kim Holderness wrote in a blog post on the couple’s website that they decided to release the song now because both she and her husband have experienced sexual harassment.

Kim and Penn’s book, Everybody Fights: So Why Not Get Better At It, about enhancing communication in a marriage, will be out on March 30, 2021.

An Explanation of the Holderness Family Scandal

Before the Holderness Family controversy came up, the Holderness Family Podcast was introduced in 2018 by the Holderness family. The podcast discusses a variety of subjects, such as humorous themes, mental health, and personal difficulties.

In 2018, the #MeToo movement prompted a debate over the 1944 holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” amid worries that the lyrics had a menacing undertone. Many radio stations all around the nation decided to boycott the song as a result.

However, the Holderness Family controversy was as a result of their support of the song when a listener of Cleveland radio station Star 102 protested about the song’s placement on its Christmas playlist. The listener allegedly complained that the music did not support the principles of the expanding #MeToo movement, according to FOX8.

Why Did The Holderness Family Act That Way?

When the COVID -19 pandemic began in 2020, the Holderness family responded with a series of viral parodies and skits, including a Hamilton medley urging people to wear masks and a Frozen parody titled “It’s Vaccination Day,” to convey their delight at a COVID -19 vaccination date.

Each year at Christmas time, the Holderness family releases a new “XMAS Jammies” video, in addition to more than 300 previous parodies. They have also appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, H.L.N., CNN, C.B.S., This Morning and Right This Minute, among others. They have also been featured on UPTV, The Food Network’s The Twelve Foods of Christmas and The C.W. Anderson Show’s The Greatest Vacation Video Countdown.

Before the Holderness family controversy arose, Penn Holderness spent time in New York producing video essays for A.B.C. and ESPN before returning to North Carolina to anchor the evening news for WNCN-TV. His wife, Kim Dean, was a television reporter in Florida from 2004 to 2008 before moving to New York City to work for Inside Edition.