Tom Hanks’ son Chet Hanks claimed Tuesday that despite growing up with an Oscar-winning dad, he had no one to turn to as a celebrity kid.
“I didn’t have a strong male role model to tell me … ‘Bro, f–k these people. They are just jealous of you,’” Chet, 31, said in a video on his YouTube channel of the disrespect he endured from his peers for his wealth, fame and being perceived as “arrogant, entitled and spoiled.”
“‘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,” he continued. “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.”
The “White Boy Summer” rapper said people used to “make up their minds” about him before even getting to know him.
“It was extremely hard to break down their walls,” he shared. “So, I encountered a lot of disdain, a lot of animosity and negativity because everybody was just prepared to hate my guts.”
Chet, who regularly posts photos of himself flexing his muscles on Instagram, added that due to his “hard exterior” and ability to intimidate, many of his haters never had the nerve to confront him face to face.
“People kinda did f–k with me a lot growing up. It was never to my face,” he recalled. “It was always behind my back in the forms of gossip and s–t-talking.”
That said, Chet clarified he understands growing up with privilege can result in resentment from those who are not as fortunate.
“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,” he acknowledged. “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,” he 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 sons Chet and Truman, 26, with his wife, Rita Wilson. He is also dad to son Colin, 44, and daughter Elizabeth, 39, with his first wife, the late Samantha Lewes.
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