Tom Holland Is Proud of His Gender-Bending ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Performance, but ‘You’d Never Catch Me Doing That Now’
Tom Holland swears he’s best known for his iconic “Lip Sync Battle” performance to Rihanna’s “Umbrella” across his career accolades.
The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” actor told The Hollywood Reporter that his May 7, 2017 lip sync rendition to the beloved track is what he may be most recognized for. However, Holland would never sign on to do a follow-up battle against longtime girlfriend and MCU co-star Zendaya.
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“I’ve really worked hard in my career and I’ve really been calculated in deciding what it is I do and when I do it. And for all the movies that I’m incredibly proud of, the ‘Lip Sync Battle’ is what I get the most compliments for,” Holland said. “I’m proud of it. I like that it left a lasting impact. It was an amazing time.”
He reflected on the year itself, “My life was changing before my eyes. ‘Spider-Man’ was coming out. I was on the up. I was getting offers and turning them down for the first time, which was really crazy. I was meeting producers and directors and going to L.A. by myself. I was finally at that stage where I could say, ‘Can I bring my friends?’ And they’d say, ‘Yeah.'”
Holland shut down claims that his two-minute fishnet-clad dance routine was a commentary on toxic masculinity, crediting the “Lip Sync Battle” costume designer for coming up with the look for the performance.
“I don’t give a fuck. I’ve grown up in the most non-toxic-masculine environment possible. I didn’t realize what I was doing was so forward-thinking,” he said. “I was just like, ‘Yeah, fuck it, I’ll put some fishnets on and dance in the rain. That’ll be really fun. I don’t care.'”
The “Crowded Room” actor added, “But you’d never catch me doing that now. Just because I don’t want to do a fucking TV show that I don’t need to do. I’d rather go and play golf and live my little private life.”
Holland recently opened up about his year-long acting break that began more than eight months ago. “I’ve been chilling at home in London, going to Grand Prixes, playing golf,” Holland said, adding of the intensely “tough” role in his Apple TV+ series, “I feel so grateful that I have a wonderful community of people that support me and are there for me, so I’m honored and really excited for the rest of the show to come out.”
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