Chet Hanks, son of actor Tom Hanks, ripped CNN for covering his controversial use of a Jamaican accent while on the red carpet for the Golden Globe Awards.
Hanks, whose father won the Cecil B. DeMille Award during the 77th annual show on Sunday, hyped his father’s appearance at the show in a video posted to Instagram. During the clip, Hanks spoke in Jamaican patois.
His use of a Jamaican accent drew criticism from many who felt it was cultural appropriation by a non-Jamaican. CNN compiled a series of reactions in a story published on Monday titled: “Tom Hanks’ son Chet is filmed speaking patois at the Golden Globes — and the internet is baffled.”
Chet Hanks, 29, saw the post and returned to Instagram to mock the network for covering the controversy surrounding his remarks while there is a brewing conflict between the United States and Iran. He wrote, “Average citizens: damn this is scary I can’t believe we’re on the verge of WW3 let me check the news smh.”
He doubled down on his use of the accent by posting another video of himself speaking patois with the caption “RESPECT TO MI #ISLAND MASSIVE.” He also included several emojis of the Jamaican flag in the clip of him leaving a smoothie shop.
Controversy has followed Hanks’s Instagram since he used the N-word while quoting Forrest Gump in videos posted online in 2015. He slightly walked back his use of the word by acknowledging his struggle with drug abuse at the time but noted in an interview with Billboard that he didn’t believe it was racist to use the word.
“Look, I know the majority of y’all are not going to get this,” he said. “Because the history is still so fresh in our country. But hip-hop isn’t about race — it’s about the culture you identify with.”
The younger Hanks used to perform as a rapper under the stage name Chet Haze. He is one of Tom Hanks’s four children. Colin Hanks, Chet’s older brother, followed in his father’s footsteps to become an actor and has starred in films such as King Kong and Jumanji.
