Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, recently partook in a conversation on Clubhouse, defending his controversial impressions of a Jamaican accent. The aspiring rapper, who goes by the artist name Chet Haze, has been raising concerns for quite some time now, with several videos in which he seemingly mimics Jamaican patois.
Back in January, Hanks recorded a video shout out to his father on social media, congratulating him for his Oscar nominations. The clip would have been totally harmless if not for the fact that it was delivered in a Jamaican accent. In November, following the US presidential election, Hanks posted a video commenting on the race, once again, in a fake accent. He can't seem to stop.
In February, in a now-deleted video, Hanks tried to debunk cultural appropriation by making a shockingly dense comparison. "If you don’t have a problem with a Black person wearing cowboy hats and cowboys boots and loving country music, then why do you have a problem with white people wearing braids and gold teeth and getting into hip-hop music? It’s this whole idea of theft, if they steal it from us."
Predictably, many have taken offence to his unapologetic impressions. So, he took part in a Clubhouse chat about it, defending his actions. "Guys, it’s really as simple as this," he began. "If I get on a binge and I watch a bunch of English gangster movies, and I go around, ordering a coffee at Starbucks and I’m with my friend and I go, ‘Give me a latte, guvna.’ I’m not sh***ing on English people."
Other members of the Clubhouse discussion tried to explain to Hanks that the British haven't faced oppression the way Jamaicans have, and therefore, his comparison is moot. He replied: "I understand that. I’m aware of the history. I’m aware of that," adding, "I’m not trying to offend anybody."
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