Chet Hanks Condemns Hate Groups Who Appropriate His Rap Song ‘White Boy Summer’

Chet Hanks is setting the record straight about his song “White Boy Summer,” which has reportedly seen a surge in far-right extremist groups using it to promote racist propaganda in recent months.

Three years after the musician, son of Oscar-winner Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson, released the rap song, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism released findings that neo-Nazi groups such as the Proud Boys, White Lives Matter and others have used “White Boy Summer” to “spread propaganda, recruit new members and facilitate targeted hate campaigns, including vandalism and hate incidents” over the past two months. On the song, Chet raps, “Rude boy, it’s a white boy summer, bad gyal, white don dada,” imitating a Jamaican accent.

In response to the report, Chet took to Instagram to distance himself from anyone who uses his music to promote racism. “White boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and celebrate white boys who love beautiful queens of all races,” he wrote on Wednesday (July 3), a day after the study was released. “Any other use of this music to support any form of hatred or bigotry against any group of people is deplorable and I condemn it.”

“I hope we can all spread love to each other and treat each other with kindness and dignity,” he added.

GPAHE updated its article with Chet’s statement, but cautions: “The fact remains that (the song) has been co-opted by far-right extremists to promote hatred and bigotry. This underscores the profound social responsibility… of those with powerful platforms to remain vigilant against irresponsible statements that can be used as tools of hatred and division.”

While extremist interpretations of the song seem to have reached a new peak this year, Chet’s latest message isn’t the first time he’s felt the need to clarify his intentions behind “White Boy Summer.” “I’m not talking about Trump, NASCAR white guy,” he said in a video released a few weeks before the song’s release. “I’m talking about me, Jon B, Jack Harlow white guy, summer.”

This didn’t bother bands who picked up the song in the months following its release, however, according to similar reports from the same era.

The GPAHE report and Chet’s response come months after Chet made headlines for a much more trivial reason; in May, his famous father texted him to demand an explanation for Drake’s incendiary rap battle with Kendrick Lamar, which the younger Hanks posted screenshots of online. “My God!” Forrest Gump The star sent a message to his son after Chet informed him. “These are aggressive words. People taking sides? Who wins?”

See Chet’s post on “White Boy Summer” below.