Tom Hanks' son Chet says he didn't have a 'strong male role model' while growing up
Tom Hanks’ son Chet Hanks claimed he did not have a "strong male role model" during his teens despite growing up with 'Forrest Gump' actor in a video posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, February 15. Chet Hanks aka Chet Hanx titled the video as 'The Truth About Growing Up As A Hanks'.
The 31-year-old in the YouTube video said, "I didn’t have a strong male role model to tell me … 'Bro, f–k these people. They are just jealous of you.'" Chet continued, "'You have all these things that they want, so they are trying to f–king throw their shade at you so you can feel s–tty about yourself because they are jealous.' I needed to hear that". "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", he said. Chet talked about the disrespect he endured from his peers for his wealth, fame and being perceived as "arrogant, entitled and spoiled" in the YouTube video.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who are Tom Hanks' children? Inside the lives of Chet, Truman, Colin and Elizabeth Ann Hanks
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson cut off son Chet financialy due to his drinking and weed habit
The 'White Boy Summer' rapper alleged people used to "make up their minds" about him before even getting to know him during his high school and college years. Chet shared, "It was extremely hard to break down their walls." "So, I encountered a lot of disdain, a lot of animosity and negativity because everybody was just prepared to hate my guts." He recalled, "People did kinda f*** with me a lot growing up. It was never to my face. It was always behind my back, in the forms of like gossip and s***-talking." Chet said at the time he was also fielding "d***-riders" who "didn't give a f***ing s*** about me" but were "just infatuated with the idea of hanging around f***ing Tom Hanks' son."
The 31-year-old said the experience left him "distrustful" and "defensive" and "led me down the wrong path because I felt I had something to prove. I felt that I had to be this bad motherf***er so that people wouldn't f*** with me, and I would rather be intimidating to other people than allow people to try to intimidate me." Although this tactic "worked for awhile" he was set "down a path of self-destruction through my 20s" - but now at 31 "I don't really have anything to prove anymore", explained Chet.
Chet further clarified that he understands growing up with privilege can result in resentment from those who are not as fortunate. He acknowledged, "There’s a lot of advantages, but sometimes it can be pretty weird. I got to do a lot of cool s–t 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." "My experience was even more complicated because, on top of fame already being toxic, I wasn’t even famous," Chet added. "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."
Tom, 65, shares two sons Chet, 31, and Truman, 26, with his wife, Rita Wilson. Tom is also dad to son Colin, 44, and daughter Elizabeth, 39, with his first wife, the late Samantha Lewes.
