Chet Hanks Responds To Report On His 'White Boy Summer' Becoming An Extremist Slogan
Chet Hanks, son of esteemed actor Tom Hanks, responded Wednesday after a report highlighted how his âwhite boy summerâ phrase gave rise to a far-right slogan.
According to a Tuesday report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, the âwhite boy summerâ phrase has been used by extremist groups around the world, including the Proud Boys and White Lives Matter, to âspread propaganda, recruit new members, and facilitate targeted hate campaigns including acts of vandalism and hate incidents.â
Hanks wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday that that was not the intention of the slogan and his subsequent âWhite Boy Summerâ music video, which appears to riff on Megan Thee Stallionâs 2019 song âHot Girl Summer.â
âWhite boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race,â the 33-year-old Hanks said in his post. âAnything else that it has been twisted into to support any kind of hate or bigotry against any group of people is deplorable and I condemn it.â
In his âWhite Boy Summerâ song, Hanks momentarily emulates a Jamaican accent and raps aimlessly about getting money and women: âShe let me beat it, Iâm the white boy wonder, uh/Bad gyal, white don dada/Rude boy, itâs a white boy summer.â
The song, released in April 2021, came out after heâd posted a video online that used the term and then attempted to clarify that he wasnât âtalking about Trump, NASCAR-type white.â
âIâm talking about, you know, me, Jon B, Jack Harlow type white boy summer,â he said.
Critics have also called out the font used in the âWhite Boy Summerâ merchandise, which has been linked to a font used by white nationalists, The Guardian previously reported.
GPAHE reported that the âwhite boy summerâ and its WBS acronym have surged in popularity on Telegram each summer since Hanks coined the term. The report says the phrase was used to glorify violence, target the LGBTQ community and champion white supremacist causes.
The phrase has also been embraced by white supremacist Nick Fuentes and hard-right political activist Jack Posobiec, an ally of Donald Trump.
âThis underscores the profound social responsibility that public figures bear in their words and actions,â the report says. âThe Global Project Against Hate and Extremism emphasizes the need for those with powerful platforms to remain vigilant against irresponsible statements that can be used for tools of hate and division.â