White Boy Summer

Chet Hanks Called Out ‘Deplorable’ Far-Right Hate Groups For Using ‘White Boy Summer’ As A Slogan For Racist Propaganda

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chet hanks World Premiere Of Apple TV+'s "Masters Of The Air" - Arrivals
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Chet Hanks is not a sympathetic figure. The son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson has made a brand out of publicly stepping in it. In early 2021, he coined “White Boy Summer” with a rap song of the same name, which did not impress Dionne Warwick yet earned him a record deal with Soulja Boy. Three years later, Hanks (who also goes by Chet Hanx) appears to be distancing himself from the song.

On Wednesday, July 2, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism published statistical findings showing how “White Boy Summer” became a slogan for hate groups. Hanks responded to the report on Wednesday, July 3.

“White boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race,” Hanks wrote on Instagram. “Anything 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. I hope that we all can spread love to each other and treat each other with kindness and dignity. Love, Chet Hanks.”

Specifically, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism relayed, “Over the past couple months, white supremacists and neo-Nazis have been calling for the destruction of Pride flags, killing ‘n*****s and communists,’ and the creation of ‘more militia[s]’ all under one slogan: ‘White Boy Summer.’ Several extremist groups including the Proud Boys, White Lives Matter, the Identitarian movement in Europe, and neo-Nazi Active Clubs are all using ‘White Boy Summer’ to spread propaganda, recruit new members, and facilitate targeted hate campaigns including acts of vandalism and hate incidents.”

While Hanks did the right thing by publicly condemning such bigotry and racism, he has not always handled it correctly. In 2015, Hanks defended his past use of racial slurs in a truly indefensible way.

In 2022, Hanks appeared on Ziwe, and the show’s namesake host asked Hanks about his cultural appropriation and whether there were “any marginalized communities you want to apologize to,” and his response was pretty insensitive. “I don’t feel like I’ve truly done anything offensive,” he told Ziwe, adding that “social justice warriors can kick rocks.”

That was two years ago, so the hope is that his posting on Instagram indicates growth and was not posted with convenient or performative intent.

Dionne Warwick Responds To Chet Hanks’ ‘White Boy Summer’ Campaign

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Ever since Megan Thee Stallion declared the warmer months of 2019 “Hot Girl Summer,” all sorts of public figures have rushed to lay claim to the beach season with their own campaigns — she even updated it to “quarantine summer” herself last year. Saweetie once declared December “Icy Girl Winter” and has already put in a bid to name summer 2021 “Pretty B*tch Summer” after her upcoming debut album, Pretty B*tch Music.

But one celebrity’s option has put off more people than its beguiled; Chet Hanks, of over-the-top patois and “being Tom Hanks’ son” fame, said he felt a “White Boy Summer” is in the works with him and Jack Harlow, and some folks on Twitter aren’t having it. Included among those opting out of Hanks’ fantasy summer is Dionne Warwick. The new queen of Black Twitter was mystified upon being informed of Chet Hanks’ crusade, wondering “What foolishness did I just see?” and predicting instead, “I will be having a Black Woman Summer.”

Ms. Warwick isn’t the only one who seems undone by Hanks’ tomfoolery. For the past few days, Twitter has been alight with posts roasting Tom’s offspring. The jokes range from imagining Jon B and Jack Harlow’s responses to being pulled into the discussion to wondering just how Chet Hanks turned out the way he has with an Oscar-winning father and all the privilege in the world (I think the answer’s in the question). In any case, it looks like “White Boy Summer” is probably not becoming a thing, insomuch as it already was for the last 400 summers or so, and it’s been terrible for everybody else.

Check out more responses to Chet Hanks below.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.