Why Tom Holland Would ‘Never’ Perform Memorable ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Routine Again

Tom Holland is so “proud” of his iconic Lip Sync Battle performance of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” but the Spider-Man star would “never” do something like that again. Holland opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about his 2017 appearance opposite now-girlfriend Zendaya on the former Paramount Network show, which he acknowledged has been one of the performances for which he’s gotten the most praise.

Holland started off his performance in a black suit as he did his own rendition of Gene Kelly’s classic “Singin’ in the Rain” before the whole mood turned on its head as Rihanna’s “Umbrella” kicked in. Holland then reemerged wearing a black corset and hot pants over fishnets, with he paired with a black bob wig. From there, the actor showed off his dance and acrobatic skills in a steamy and impressive performance that had even Zendaya shocked at the time.

“I’m proud of it,” Holland said of the performance, which has since racked up more than 30 million views on YouTube. “I like that it left a lasting impact. It was an amazing time. 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.’”

Asked if he was making “a statement about toxic masculinity” with his gender-bending performance, Holland denies that he was doing anything he thought was unusual or groundbreaking. “I don’t give a f-,” he said. “I’ve grown up in the most non-toxic-masculine environment possible. I didn’t realize what I was doing was so forward-thinking. I was just like, ‘Yeah, f- it, I’ll put some fishnets on and dance in the rain. That’ll be really fun. I don’t care.’”

Despite the success of his Lip Sync Battle performance, Holland revealed you would “never catch [him] doing that” at this point in his life and career, “just because I don’t want to do a f—ing TV show that I don’t need to do.” He continued, “I’d rather go and play golf and live my little private life.” That doesn’t mean he won’t look back on that performance fondly. “It is an interesting one,” The Crowded Room star reasoned. “Because 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.”