By: Brittney O.
Hip-HopVibe.com Entertainment Editor
Tom Hanks‘ 29 year-old son Chester “Chet” Hanks expresses his love for black women, specifically the mother of his daughter Michaiah whom he references as ‘saving his life.’ He has struggled with drug abuse in the past and shares that his Oscar Award-winning father, Tom Hanks, and mother Rita Wilson helped him through his sobriety and also admitted that they are the coolest grandparents to his 4 year-old daughter, Michaiah.
Hanks posted a photo of himself standing in front of a mural of the late George Floyd as he posts:
“Thankful for Tiffany, the mother of my child, a beautiful black woman, and her family of powerful black women, for the gift of my daughter, who is now old enough to call me on FaceTime. I’ll do anything to help create a better world for her. Anything. And there’s only one thing that has to change – Everything.”
Chet Hanks has had a forward moving acting career as he has starred in Empire as the character “Blake,” as well as a few episodes in 2017 of Shameless and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In light of the intensity brought from the Black Lives Matter movement, several celebrities are speaking up and stepping out. Hanks shared a message on Instagram of a few realizations that he has faced during this time:
“The huge realization that is hitting me is feeling like your problems don’t matter is probably how black people have felt living in America this entire time. I’m saying that I am so happy to know now that my problems that I was worried about a week ago are so irrelevant that they are not even problems for me anymore because the only thing that I am focused on right now is becoming as active as possible on the solution.”
Chet Hanks is no stranger to social media as he frequently posts on Instagram, but chooses to not share photos of his daughter for privacy reasons. Never sharing his political views in the past – after the eye opening protests that have broken out around the country, he now seems to have had a change of heart.
“I never thought that people really had a say – that anything that we did mattered in politics in the government before.. I now realize that we do! And that the people are powerful and that we can make sh** happen and get sh** done. And that makes me really hopeful. And I just feel like my priorities in terms of what I’m focused on and worried about and concerned with in my life — have been completely rearranged because I, like many of you might feel, am also at my wits end with living in a world where these changes aren’t happening.”
The actor and musician speaks firmly about the need to fix the system so that all people can live equally by making change so that everyone is good.
“If one of us isn’t good and isn’t equal then none of us are f***ing good. And I think this is what’s showing. Because people are coming together.”
He ends with spreading love and encouraging the people to stay safe and aware of the propaganda that is also taking place.
What are your thoughts on Chet Hanks’ message? Drop your comments below.
