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Chet Hanks has defended his “White Boy Summer” meme after a new report found the phrase had been co-opted by white supremacist groups.
Tom Hanks’ son, 33, first coined the term “White Boy Summer” on Instagram in 2021 while riffing on Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Hot Girl Summer”, which was the inspiration for multiple other online trends like “Christian girl autumn”.
A report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, released last Tuesday, found the phrase has since been used by hate groups. However, the Empire actor has maintained this was not his intention when sharing his original post.
In 2021, Hanks wrote: “I just got this feeling man that this summer … it’s about to be a white boy summer.
“Take it how you want, I’m not talking about Trump, Nascar-type white,” he continued. “I’m talking about me, [rappers] Jon B. Jack Harlow-type white boys, you know what I mean.”
Global Project Against Hate and Extremism’s report claimed, “white supremacists and neo-Nazis have been calling for the destruction of Pride flags, killing ‘[N-word] and communists,’ and the creation of militias all under the slogan ‘White Boy Summer.’”
The report added that extremist groups including the Proud Boys and White Lives Matter had all also used Hanks’ phrase.
Hanks addressed the report in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday (3 July), writing “White boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race.
“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.”
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The Independent has contacted Hanks for comment.
Tom Hanks trended on Twitter at the time of his son’s White Boy Summer (WBS) post, as one person commented: “Chet Hanks is proof that you can do everything right in the world and kids will still embarrass tf outta you.”
In another tweet that received more than 44,000 likes, a person wrote: “I physically can not imagine Chet Hanks and Tom Hanks talking to each other.”
Writer Trey Smith commented: “Chet Hanks is exactly what suburban parents in 2007 thought would happen to their children if they let them listen to like half a lil wayne song.”
“I will never stop screaming,” another person said, sharing the video.
