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Tom Hank’s son Chester the ‘black sheep’ of the family, after battling addiction

Tom Hanks’ son Chester has endured troubled years with his Oscar-winning dad in the spotlight, earning him the title of “black sheep”.

Tom Hank’s son sparks controversy once again using fake Jamaican accent

His father is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, known for his nice guy roles on-screen and close-knit family life off camera.

But Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson have been forced to watch on as their son Chester – also known as Chet – has battled a series of public scandals and personal issues over the years.

Now he’s sparked controversy once again as he filmed himself bizarrely using a fake Jamaican accent to mark the US election result.

In the video, the 30-year-old begins to show compassion for Donald Trump, before revealing he’s joking by randomly breaking into the accent, calling the President a “p***yclat”.

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The footage has gained a mixed reaction from his 352,000 followers, with many slamming his use of the accent.

But it’s far from the only bizarre video he’s posted, or controversy he’s been caught up in.

The self-confessed “black sheep” of the family, who is now clean, has previously battled cocaine and crack addiction, trashed a hotel room and had several stints in rehab.

Here we look at the life of the Hanks wild child, whose antics keep the family on their toes.

Tom Hanks and his son Chet Hanks. Picture: Michael Tran/FilmMagic
Tom Hanks and his son Chet Hanks. Picture: Michael Tran/FilmMagic

GOLDEN GLOBES CONTROVERSY

It’s not the first time Chet has sparked anger by faking a Jamaican accent.

He shocked at the Golden Globes with another video using the accent, as he praised his dad outside the annual ceremony, before he was presented with the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille award.

“BIG UP FIMI WHOL FAMILY SOON COM AT DI AWARDS NA SEEN,” he captioned the clip. “CHUNE IN.”

It caused a storm on social media with people slamming his “white privilege” and accusing him of cultural appropriation.

OLDER KIDS ‘REMEMBER THE POOR DAYS’

After picking up his award at the Globes, Tom paid tribute to his kids as “braver and stronger and wiser than their old man”.

But he has previously admitted his older two children had a very different upbringing to his younger boys.

The Forrest Gump star was a struggling actor at the age of 21 when he had son Colin, with first wife Samantha Lewes, and his only daughter Elizabeth four years later.

By the time he wed second wife Rita Wilson and had sons Chester and Truman, now 30 and 24 respectively, he was the Oscar-nominated star of Big and a huge box office draw.

“Colin and Elizabeth remember when their dad was just a guy trying to make the rent,” Hanks told People.

“My other kids, they were born after I had established a beachhead in every way. And so their lives were just different.”

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Samantha Bryant (Colin’s wife), Colin Hanks, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Hanks, Chet Hanks, and Truman Theodore Hanks at this year’s Golden Globes. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Samantha Bryant (Colin’s wife), Colin Hanks, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Hanks, Chet Hanks, and Truman Theodore Hanks at this year’s Golden Globes. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

PRIVILEGED LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD MANSION

Unlike their older siblings, Chet and Truman grew up in a Hollywood mansion, surrounded by wealth and mixing with the kids of screen stars, and enjoyed expensive holidays to exotic locations, including the West Indies.

He once recalled the moment he realised his dad was famous, telling the Red Pill Podcast, “I was watching Big when I was a little kid and I was like, ‘That’s Dad. What’s he doing on TV?’ and Mum was like, ‘He’s an actor. That’s what he does.’”

While both his parents enjoyed huge screen success – with Tom picking up two Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump – Chet was kept away from the acting industry until he was 17 when he landed a small part in Bratz.

At the time he called his parents the “best people ever”, adding: “I love my parents so, so much. They did a really good job raising me. Great dad, great mum. I’m extremely blessed just to have great parents.”

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Although he landed minor roles in his teens, including in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull and his dad’s directorial debut Larry Crowne, Chet dreamt of a rap career.

While studying at Northwestern College, in 2011, he adopted the name of Chet Haze and released White And Purple, a cover of Wiz Khalifa’s Black And Yellow changed to his college colours.

But he was already battling a drug addiction that had begun when he was 16, and was taking increasing amounts of cocaine and, after graduating, Chet started to gain notoriety for all the wrong reasons.

TRASHING A HOTEL ROOM AND POSING WITH GUNS

In June 2015, after drinking champagne and vodka in a London club, he caused $A2200 worth of damage to a four-star hotel room in London’s Gatwick Airport, ripping the TV from the wall and leaving smashed glass strewn across the floor.

“He was pretty obnoxious once he started drinking at the club. He kept saying, ‘Do you know who I am?’” one club-goer told The Mirror, and hotel guests at the Arora International complained he was “loud and obnoxious” during his stay.

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Chet Hanks copped criticism for posing with guns in 2017.
Chet Hanks copped criticism for posing with guns in 2017.

‘SNORTED SO MUCH COKE MY NOSE CLOGGED’

The same month, he was pictured posing with two hand guns on Instagram and he caused a huge backlash with a series of Instagram posts about his new track Juice, where he defended his use of the n-word.

He claimed he used the offensive term with the “black friends who get me” and added: “The way I see it, it’s a word that unifies the culture of HIP-HOP across ALL RACES, which is actually kind of a beautiful thing.”

Shortly after the posts, Chet’s social media accounts went silent prompting bizarre rumours he had been kidnapped, but in October 2015, he set his worried followers straight.

“I just want to let you all know, I’ve been in rehab … and I’m doing pretty damn good,” he said in an Instagram video.

“A couple months ago I was selling coke, doing coke until I couldn’t even snort it up my nose anymore because it was so clogged.

“I even smoked crack. If I can change, you can change. There is a solution.”

This time the reformed addict stayed sober, throwing himself into gym workouts and his passion for dirt bikes.

He also began to get his career on track, landing recurring roles in Shameless and Empire, for which he also recorded the track How Ya Luv That.

Throughout his addiction, his parents stood by him

“As a parent, you love your kids unconditionally,” Tom told Entertainment Tonight. “You support them every step of the way.”

DAUGHTER ‘SAVED MY LIFE’

It was a lesson that Chet was about to take on board, when he became dad to Michaiah, born April 2016.

The doting dad credits his daughter – with partner Tiffany Miles – for keeping him clean.

“There’s a part of you that knows that you need to make a change, but you can’t really shut the door on your life and just move on to a new chapter.

“For me, it took something drastic happening, like becoming a father,” Chet told Entertainment Tonight in 2018.

‘I’M THE BLACK SHEEP’

But Chet’s outlandish sense of humour is still getting him into trouble.

He eventually apologised for the n-word row in 2018 – saying he was “on lots of drugs” at the time and admitting he wanted to “spark my career”.

But he enjoys the notoriety – recently posting picture of a black sheep with the words: “What it’s like to be me.”

After the Golden Globes video “broke the internet”, according to one of his followers, he responded with a new video with the same Jamaican accent, joking: “Me wake up this morning and me see the ting ton up.”

And while social media erupted in a backlash against Chet, mum Rita said the video was “maybe the best laugh of the night”.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/celebrity-kids/tom-hanks-son-chester-the-black-sheep-of-the-family-after-battling-addiction/news-story/5188cc5a876403cf8671742f3b1a81eb