The ups and downs of Chet Hanks through the years

Chet Hanks has endured quite a few ups and downs over the years.

Chet is the eldest son of Tom Hanks And Rita Wilsonwho married in 1988 and are also parents of a son Truman Hanks. Tom is also the father of a son Colin Hanks and daughter Elizabeth Ann Hankswho he welcomed with late wife Samantha Lewes.

Over the years, Chet has described himself as the “black sheep” of his family due to his controversial comments and his struggles with substance abuse. In February 2022, Chet made headlines for claiming his childhood was “complicated” because of his parents’ success.

“My experience was even more complicated because, in addition to the fact that fame was already toxic, I wasn’t even famous,” he said in an YouTube video at the time. “I was just the son of a famous person, so I hadn’t even done anything to deserve any kind of recognition and that created a lot of contempt.”

Keep scrolling to see Chet’s ups and downs over the years:

2007

Chet made his acting debut in the Bratz movie like Dexter.

2011

While studying theater at Northwestern University, Chet released the song “White and Purple” under the alias Chet Haze. The single was a success Wiz Khalifa‘s hit “Black and Yellow,” and he changed the lyrics to suit his school.

2015

After taking an extended break from social media, Chet revealed that he spent the summer in rehab to treat his cocaine addiction.

“A few months ago I sold coke [and] I did Coke until I couldn’t even sniff it through my nose because it was so clogged. I even smoked crack,” he said in a September 2015 Instagram video. “If I can change, you can change too. There is a solution. … It’s been a long journey to discover who I am. Because [of] all the pressures I’ve faced in my life – you know, being my dad’s son and all. I’m just trying to figure out where I fit in.”

2016

Chet became a father in April 2016 when he welcomed daughter Michaiah with ex Tiffany Miles. That same year he also scored a recurring role in Shameless as Charlie.

2018

After his stint on the Showtime drama, Chet later landed another role rich. He joined the supporting cast for season 4 as Blake and was ascended to a main character the following season.

In June 2018, Chet opened up about how fatherhood inspired him to get sober.

“There’s a part of you that knows you need to make a change, but you can’t really close the door on your life and just move on to a new chapter,” he told Entertainment tonight. “For me, it took something drastic, like becoming a father, before I could make the change.”

2020

Chet raised eyebrows for having a Jamaican accent during an interview at the Golden Globes in January 2020. After being accused of cultural appropriation, Chet broke his silence and said it was all in good fun.

‘Enough is enough, okay. Look, never in a million years did I think that just hanging out on the red carpet I would get so much attention, but man, it was crazy,” he explained via Instagram. “One thing I don’t joke about is my love and appreciation for Jamaica and Jamaican culture. That was incredible, all the love I got from Jamaica… it touched my heart, so thank you so much.”

2021

Chet sparked controversy again the following year when he declared that the summer of 2021 would be a “white boy’s summer,” which was a play Megan Thee Stalltion‘s hit single ‘Hot Girl Summer’.

“I just got the feeling, man, that this summer is going to be a white boy’s summer,” he said via Instagram in March 2021. “Take it any way you want. …I’m talking about, you know, I, [singer] Jon B., [rapper] Jack Harlow-type white boy summer. Let me know if you guys are up for it and get ready, because I am.

A month after his statement, Chet dropped his single “White Boy Summer” under the pseudonym Chet Hanx. The song was criticized and accused of cultural appropriation and promoting white privilege.

In September 2021, Chet raised eyebrows again when he claimed his parents never gave him benefits growing up.

“It was really a double-edged sword,” he said during an interview on Channel 5 With Andrew Callaghan. “People assume I lived a super privileged life, rich and wealthy, and that just wasn’t the case. It was actually the opposite. They never gave me an allowance. I don’t know if I’m the richest rich kid or the richest broke kid.”

2022

The following year, Chet doubled down on his comments about his parents. He claimed he had a “toxic” upbringing and did not have a strong role model growing up.

“I didn’t have a strong male role model who could tell me that. To tell me, ‘Bro, f–k these people. They’re just jealous of you. You have all these things that they want, so they try to throw their shade at you so you can feel good about yourself, because they’re jealous,'” he said in a YouTube video. ‘I needed to hear that. I had no one to tell me that. This is me now telling the younger version of myself what I needed to hear back then.

2023

Despite speaking out against his parents over the years, Chet was reunited with his mother and father over the holidays. Chet and Tom posed together for a photo that the rapper shared via social media.

“Gang,” Chet wrote via Instagram in December 2023. In the photo, the father-son duo subtly smiled as they sat next to each other.