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With great power comes great… fishnets?
Tom Holland is opening up about his legendary 2017 “Lip Sync Battle” performance of Rihanna’s hit song “Umbrella.”
During his July 31 appearance on Gordon Ramsay’s “Scrambled,” the “Spider-Man: No Way Home” star looked back on the viral dance that featured, yes, fishnets from his grandma’s closet.
“What was really great about that was people didn’t know that I could dance,” Holland, 29, said of the performance. “I kept that quiet, I don’t know why. And I came out with a bang.”
Going head-to-head with his “Spider-Man: Homecoming” co-star Zendaya, Holland opened his routine with a fake-out “Singin’ in the Rain” bit before launching into Rihanna’s 2007 smash — wig, dress and tights included.
The “Uncharted” actor told Ramsay he and his now-fiancée, 28, initially planned a low-key showdown.
“It’s so funny, Zendaya and I, we were chatting at the time about what we were going to do, and we had agreed that we would take it easy,” he explained. “That was the agreement, that it was like, ‘I’m not going to do anything crazy. You’re not going to do anything crazy. We’re just going to keep it nice and easy breezy.”
However, Holland continued, the now-iconic performance evolved into its final form as he was preparing for the show.
“When I was working with the creative team, coming up with the ideas, they kind of pitched this ‘Umbrella thing, and as we were rehearsing, it got crazier and crazier,” he told Ramsay. “And then, the rain machine came in. And then, I was like, ‘F— yeah, I want to wear fishnets and do this, and I want a wig and a quick-change.'”
The “Hell’s Kitchen” host, 58, asked Holland, “Were they mum’s fishnets?”
“They were my granny’s, actually,” the British actor quipped.
Holland also shared that his father, Dominic Holland, was initially hesitant about the bold routine.
“When I told my dad, he was like, ‘Son, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think you should,'” he explained. “I was like, ‘No, Dad. It’ll be really fun. I’m going to have a good time.’ I think he was just — at that time in my career, he was very worried about me becoming too famous too quickly.”
Holland continued, “He was really keen for me to not do extra TV shows that I didn’t have to do to try and maintain that part of my childhood.”
The “Cherry” actor joked that the video’s ongoing fame “haunts [him],” even years later.
“It’s ridiculous. Honestly, of all the pieces of work I’ve done, that I’ve put my heart and soul into, blood, sweat and tears, “Lip Sync Battle” is the thing that everyone brings up,” he said. “It’s never ‘Spider-Man.’ It’s never any of my other movies. It’s always ‘Lip Sync Battle.'”
Holland recently slipped back into the Spidey suit for Marvel’s upcoming “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” swinging into theaters on July 31, 2026.
English (US)