65 year old Mark Laita operates a documentary and interview style Youtube channel known as “Soft White Underbelly” where he has been producing videos for the past decade. His channel features people who are in extremely bad situations. Laita interviews drug addicts, gang members, prostitutes, convicts, and homeless people among others, asking them about their stories and how they ended up in such dire situations. Over the years, Laita’s channel has amassed over six million subscribers and over a billion total views. If you ask Laita, he is simply documenting the human condition, collecting snapshots of humanity at its low points, and spreading awareness about the perils of drug addiction and homelessness. This article centers around the actions of Laita and if they can be called ethical. On the surface, this would seem to be an obvious ‘yes’. However, Laita is not free from controversy.
An important question to ask is what is Laita actually doing for the people he interviews? According to a 2020 report by Washington Post, Laita pays his interviewees between $20 and $40. By contrast, Laita has earned several millions of dollars from his channel, merchandise, and book sales. So is Laita really helping anyone with his channel? Everyone knows that homelessness and drug addiction exist. They know how sad and dangerous these often are. By extensively detailing people’s stories (to Laita’s monetary benefit), are Laita and his channel making a real difference?
Another ethical dilemma that has arisen is Laita’s relationship with a woman named Kyara. Kyara had been interviewed on Laita’s channel where she discussed her struggles with drug addiction and homelessness. Then, the two struck up a relationship when she was 19 or 20. In a video posted to his channel this year, Laita details his relationship with Kyara, describing her as “mature for her age”. Laita says that he was paying Kyara and her young son’s rent at the time of her death from an overdose. Many people online took issue with the strange power dynamic that may have existed in their relationship. There is no doubt that Kyara was in an extremely vulnerable position. She was mentally ill, drug addicted, homeless, and with a young child to support when she met Laita. Then, Laita began paying for her housing, making her somewhat reliant on him.
This article is meant to convey facts about Laita’s channel and his relationship with Kyara. Some fans online have taken issue with Laita’s conduct in regards to Kyara and his interview subjects. So, based on this information, what do you think? With his interviews, is Laita just spreading awareness? Or is he capitalizing on the stories of vulnerable people for his personal gain? Might it be both? Additionally, what do you think of his relationship with Kyara? Putting aside their obvious age gap, do you think Laita was just helping her out? Or was there a power dynamic that made their relationship problematic? Was he really helping her by giving her money? Or did this contribute to her eventual death? If you have thoughts, feel free to share in the comments.
