Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tom Hanks’s son Chet says he did not have a ‘strong male role model’ growing up

‘My experience was even more complicated because, on top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous,’ Chet says

Peony Hirwani
Thursday 17 February 2022 04:36 EST
Comments
Tom Hanks’s son Chet says he did not have a ‘strong male role model’ growing up

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tom Hanks’s son Chester has claimed that he did not have a “strong male role model” while growing up.

During Tuesday’s (16 February) episode of his YouTube channel Hanx Fit, the 31-year-old, commonly known as Chet, spoke about growing up as Hanks’s child.

While speaking about the disregard he faced from his peers about being perceived as “arrogant, entitled and spoiled”, Chet said that he “didn’t have a strong male role model to tell me ‘bro, f*** these people, they are just jealous of you’.”

“You have all these things that they want, so they are trying to f****** throw their shade at you so you can feel s***** about yourself because they are jealous,” he said.

The Empire actor recalled that people used to “make up their minds” about him even before meeting him.

Chet is Hanks’s third child, and his first with wife Rita Wilson. Hanks has three other children, two of whom are from a previous marriage.

Tom Hanks and his rapper son Chet
Tom Hanks and his rapper son Chet (Robyn Beck/Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

“It was extremely hard to break down their walls,” Chet said. “So, I encountered a lot of disdain, a lot of animosity and negativity because everybody was just prepared to hate my guts.”

He recalled that people “kinda did f*** with me a lot growing up”.

“It was never to my face. It was always behind my back in the forms of gossip and s*** talking,” he said.

Acknowledging that he loved his parents, Chet said that he faced a lot of resentment for being a boy whose father had won multiple Oscar Awards. “There’s a lot of advantages [of being a celebrity kid], but sometimes it can be pretty weird,” he said. “I got to do a lot of cool s*** that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do.”

“I got to travel the world, stay in nice hotels, fly on private planes, and I’m very blessed for that. I wouldn’t change my situation,” he added.

Chet claimed that his entire “experience was even more complicated because, on top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous”.

“I was just the son of somebody famous, so I hadn’t even done anything to deserve any sort of recognition, and that created a lot of contempt,” he said.

Chet generated ire last year for a number of outlandish statements, including that 2021 would experience a “white boy summer”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in