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Chet Hanks, son of the beloved Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, says growing up with a famous dad wasn’t all it’s made out to be.
The eldest son of Tom and Rita Wilson says as a youngster he had no one to turn to for advice. Speaking on his YouTube channel in a video entitled The Truth About Growing Up as a Hanks, he claimed he never had a strong male role model.
Chet (31), an aspiring rapper, says his peers targeted him and thought he was “arrogant, entitled and spoiled”.
“I didn’t have a strong male role model to tell me, ‘Bro, f**k these people. They're just jealous of you. You have all these things that they want, so they’re trying to f**king throw their shade at you so you can feel s***ty about yourself because they’ re jealous’,” he says in the video.
“I needed to hear that,” he added. “I didn’t have anyone to tell me that. This is me now telling the younger version of myself what I needed to hear then.”
READ MORE | Just call him the black sheep: how Tom Hanks’ son Chet has ruffled feathers yet again
Chet’s criticism of the popular actor hasn’t gone down well on social media. Many are saying Chet is the problem, pointing out that Tom’s other kids, Colin and Elizabeth, from his marriage to Samantha Lewes, and Truman, his younger son with Rita, are well adjusted and successful.
The other kids turned out fine. Part of becoming an adult is owning up to your own mistakes and failures, look in the mirror chet for who to blame.
— Campfire (@Campfire_Lofi) February 17, 2022
Chet's parents are well known in the industry as two of the most kind and down-to-earth stars in the business. I don't buy what he's selling.
— Lexus0098 (@lexus0098) February 18, 2022
My guess is that they enforced rules and boundaries and Chet was having none of that.
What is Chet's definition of a "strong male role model". because @tomhanks does have 3 other children, all of whom seem to be gainfully employed. In fact l Chet's younger brother worked behind the scenes on the West Side Story movie.
— Richard Schilling (@RSchillingNY) February 16, 2022
Some fans said Tom deserves better from Chet as he’s supported him through his battle with cocaine addiction and his stints in rehab.
Tom told Entertainment Tonight in 2015 that he loves all his children unconditionally.
“You support them every step of the way. You’ve got to applaud the bravery and honesty when it actually comes out of your own house.”
READ MORE | Tom Hanks' son Chet reveals heartbreaking struggle – and determination to sober up
This isn’t the first time Chet has publicly spoken about his childhood. In 2011, he told Vice he knows the only reason he got so much publicity for his rap career is because he’s Tom Hanks’ child.
“So, I’m appreciative of the publicity that I get because of it. That being said, sometimes in life, it can cause awkward moments to arise. Like, growing up, people would want to become friends with me so they could meet my dad. And they didn’t care about me at all. So that’s just . . . Well, that goes along with it.”
Tom has yet to respond to Chet’s comments.
Sources: cnn.com, dailymail.co.uk, usmagazine.com, mirror.co.uk, twitter.com,
