Tom Hanks’ Son Goes On Anti-Vaccine Rant On Social Media, Calls Covid-19 ‘Flu’

In March 2020 Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were admitted to a hospital in Queensland, Australia after being infected with the novel coronavirus.

The couple made a recovery after hospitalization. In over a year since they had to be treated for the virus, their son Chester Hanks, better known as Chet, has dismissed the virus as “flu”. He shared his anti-vaccine and anti-mask rant on social media drawing widespread criticism.

Chet, the older of Tom’s two children with Wilson, has often been embroiled in controversies contrasting his father’s clean celebrity image. The most recent of the controversies come as the United States continues to top the list of total recorded COVID-19 cases. While the public health bodies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urge citizens to continue wearing masks, Chet shares a different opinion.

Taking to Instagram, Chet shared a video that started off as a public service announcement. He starts off with a serious tone by stating that he had taken the vaccine. He urged people to take the vaccine in order to defeat the virus. The video then takes a turn as the actor dismisses the need to take vaccines.

He says that vaccines are not necessary because there is no need to fix something that is not broken. Stating that he never got infected he claimed that COVID-19 was just the “flu”. Telling people to “get over it” he expects people who are sick to stay inside. He further tells those who feel that they are in danger should simply stay indoors.

In the insensitive and illogical rant, he not only dismisses the need to get the vaccine, but he also says that he is sick of wearing a mask. His stance against vaccination and masks has been evident from his Instagram stories as well.

Today reported that Chet on another occasion had shared his frustration at being told to wear a mask. He had shared how being told by a bookstore employee to pull up his mask bothered him.

After Chet’s parents were admitted, he shared that they were “not even that sick”, CNN reported. Later the couple had described the painful journey to recovery which was in stark contrast to their son’s opinion.