Tom Hanks’ Son, Chet Hanks, Regrets His Phrase ‘White Boy Summer’ Has Been Appropriated By Extremists

A recent report from the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) has revealed that Chet Hanks, the son of renowned actor Tom Hanks, has inadvertently emboldened white supremacists and other hate groups through his use of the phrase “White Boy Summer.”

Hanks initially introduced the phrase in 2021, drawing inspiration from trends like rapper Megan thee Stallion‘s “Hot Girl Summer.” The younger Hanks intended for the term to promote an embrace of “fly” white boys, but it has since been co-opted by extremist elements.

In an Instagram post uploaded on Wednesday, Hanks responded to the GPAHE report, which was covered in The New York Times, by clarifying that “White Boy Summer” is meant to be “fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race.” He condemned any attempts to twist the phrase to “support any kind of hate or bigotry against any group of people” as “deplorable.”

This is not the first time Hanks has had to address criticism over the White Boy Summer phrase. When he first coined the term, some critics believed that white men did not need to be glorified due to the privileges they already enjoy in society. Hanks clarified that he was not referring to “Trump, you know, NASCAR type white,” but rather shoutouts to white men like R&B singer Jon B and rapper Jack Harlow.

Despite Hanks‘ insistence that the term is not meant to be used in a hateful manner, the GPAHE report found that the phrases “White Boy Summer” and “WBS” have spiked on Telegram, a communication app that has hosted a number of extremist groups, each summer since the trend took off.

Furthermore, far-right personalities, such as conservative commentator Jack Posobiec, have publicly appropriated the phrase, with Posobiec waving a White Boy Summer flag at a conference for the conservative youth group Turning Point USA in June.