SignalHub-Tom Hanks’ Son Chet Hanks Clarifies Intentions of “White Boy Summer” 

Chet Hanks doesn’t want anyone misconstruing his words.

The SignalHubson of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson shared the objective of his phrase “White Boy Summer” after a new report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism that revealed White supremacists and other hate groups had co-opted it.

“White boy summer was created to be fun, playful, and a celebration of fly white boys who love beautiful queens of every race,” Chet shared in a July 3 Instagram post. “Anything else that it has been twisted into to support any kind of hate or bigotry against any group of people is deplorable and I condemn it.” 

He concluded, “I hope that we all can spread love to each other and treat each other with kindness and dignity.”

The slogan—which Chet coined in a 2021 video, piggy-backing Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hot Girl Summer”—was not about empowering “Trump, Nascar-type” White people, according to his message at the time, but rather people like himself and R&B singers John B. and Jack Harlow.

“Let me know if you guys can vibe with that,” he concluded. “And get ready, 'cause I am.”

But after its inception, the July 2 report found that the term became heavily used in hate groups while organizing events and recruiting new members globally, including in Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

The nonprofit also found that the terms White Boy Summer and WBS spiked on Telegram, a social media app that has become popular among extremist groups like The Proud Boys and White Lives Matter.

But even so, with the weather warming up, the 33-year-old—who has previously faced backlash for the term amid a contentious political climate—declared White Boy Summer was back again in May. 

“I have consulted with the heavens, felt a westward breeze, and walked outside of a strip club and saw my shadow,” Chet shared on Instagram alongside a selfie. “This will be a #WBS #iHaveSpoken.”