It’s been seven years since Lip Sync Battle last pitted two celebrities against each other for performances that were guaranteed to live rent-free in our heads. Jenna Dewan doing the Magic Mike dance for Channing Tatum was simply epic, and who can forget watching The Rock sing Taylor Swift? However, I’m surprised at how much Tom Holland’s performance of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” has been coming up — and especially how the latest mention relates to his wife Zendaya.
It’s been nine years since Tom Holland donned the black wig, shorts and fishnet stockings on Lip Sync Battle, but he is still talking about what he’s called the “most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life.” It sounds like something great came out of it, though, as a source allegedly close to Zendaya said the “Umbrella” moment was when she “fell hard” for Holland and “sealed the deal” for her in their relationship. The insider told the Daily Mail:
It’s not just sexy but it shows how amazingly talented he is. It takes a lot of confidence for a straight guy to pull off drag.
While the Spider-Man: Far From Home stars didn’t officially confirm their relationship until 2021, rumors about the two date back to 2017 — the same year of their Lip Sync Battle — so the timing actually works out. Who knows? If Tom Holland hadn’t dressed like Rihanna, would they even be married today? (Of course, that wasn’t the only time he tried to impress Zendaya with his dance skills.)
It’s easy to see why this performance has stuck with fans through the years — and Zendaya was clearly LOVING it. Still, its impact being this strong after so much time is wild.
This is a big year for Tom Holland — with two huge projects (The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day) hitting the 2026 movie calendar this summer and a likely appearance in Avengers: Doomsday in December — and still, it always comes back to “Umbrella.” Last fall on Gordon Ramsay’s Scrambled, Holland said:
Honestly, of all the pieces of work I’ve done, that I’ve put my heart and soul into, blood, sweat, and tears, the Lip Sync Battle is the thing that everyone brings up. It’s never Spider-Man, it’s never any of my other movies, it’s always Lip Sync Battle. It haunts me.
Tom Holland has consistently said he gets recognized for his Lip Sync Battle performance more than his Spider-Man movies or any other role. Then he spoke about it at length on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast just this month, he said:
I get more compliments for that dance than any piece of work I have ever done.
It’s evident by just how many times the “Umbrella” dance still comes up how significant a pop culture moment it was, but I had no idea how impactful that moment may have been for Tom Holland and Zendaya’s romance.
Be sure to catch the couple in Spider-Man: Brand New Day when it hits theaters July 31. The husband-and-wife duo will also both appear in The Odyssey, coming July 17.
