Chet Hanks, the wannabe rapper son of actor Tom Hanks, has received some extra attention in recent days thanks to his constant use of the n-word on his Instagram page. So, he took to Instagram to explain why he thinks he can use it.
The issue really started getting attention when Gawker picked up on it, noting a picture Hanks took in London a few days ago, in which he wrote, “F**k yall hating ass n***az I'll never stop chasing my dream.” He captioned another photo with a friend over the weekend, “me and my ni**a.”
Apparently, no one can tell the son of a two-time Oscar winner what he can and can’t say, because rather than apologizing, Hanks defended himself.
“Look, I know the majority of you are not going to get this because the history is still so fresh in our country,” Hanks said in an Instagram video, “but hip-hop is not about race, it’s about the culture you identify with. And can’t no one tell me what I can’t say!”
He further explained his thoughts in a long caption to the video, insisting that free speech allows him to use the word. “Some people will get it, some people won't. Either way, Ima keep living my life however the f**k I want. ALL LOVE,” he concluded.
Just a few minutes ago, he realized that people might not be OK with that explanation, so he posted another video on Instagram.
“I just want to clarify one thing, under no circumstances would I ever go up to somebody I didn’t know and just be like, ‘Hey, what’s up my ni**a?’ It’s an unspoken thing between people who are friends who understand each other,” he said in the second video.
“And that's it! If you still want to be mad, be mad! That's your right,” he wrote in the caption for the second video. “What people think about me is none of my business. But please don't act like you know my whole story either! We are all infinitely intelligent creatures on our own journeys. It's life. ALL LOVE.”
Hanks’ father has not commented on this, but they probably have something new to talk about over dinner.