Chet Hanks is opening up about the “double-edged sword” of having Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson as his parents and revealing the “toxic” side of fame he’s experienced while growing up. The “Vanilla King“ admitted that he was “blessed” but told fans that fame can be “destructive.”
Chet Hanks Says There's More To Having Famous Parents Than Traveling The World And Expensive Hotels.
Chet didn’t hold back in the YouTube video he uploaded to his new channel, saying that while he loved his parents, being the son of two successful movie stars has a downside.
"There's a lot of advantages but sometimes it can be pretty weird," Chet said. "I got to do a lot of cool s--t that a lot of people don't get the opportunity to do. I got to travel the world, stay in nice hotels, fly on private planes and I'm very blessed for that. I wouldn't change my situation."
But while a life of travel and luxury hotels might seem awesome to us regular folks, the Vanilla King said it was a “double-edged sword” that not many people understood.
"I was just the son of somebody famous, so I hadn't even done anything to deserve any sort of recognition and that created a lot of contempt," he said. “People automatically assumed in general that I would just be a really arrogant, entitled spoiled brat.”
But Chet says he “really wasn’t spoiled” and that while he knew a lot of wealthy kids that were spoiled, he was never given money and always had to earn it.
People Judged Chet Because Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson Were His Parents, But It Gave Him Thick Skin.
Chet went on to say that people’s infatuation with fame can brew a lot of “jealousy” and “envy,” and that people would form opinions about him before they even got a chance to know him, which he says gave him thick skin.
Thick skin might be a good thing for Chet to have, as the self-proclaimed "black sheep" always manages to find himself at the center of a controversy. The internet roasted Chet last year after making some anti-vaxxer remarks, despite both of his parents contracting COVID-19. People didn't care for his “white boy summer” remarks either.
These days, when Chet isn't posting shirtless selfies on Instagram, he's following in his parents' footsteps with a foray into acting. Chet scored roles in Empire and the Showtime miniseries Your Honor and even has a burgeoning rap career.