Actor Tom Hanks' rapper son getting peeved with Howard Stern and threatening assault made headlines recently. The verbal tussle, which was triggered by Stern's comments about Chester "Chet" Hanks on his radio show, smacks of social stereotypes. Being the son of one of the biggest names in Hollywood has drawn much attention for Chet Haze, yet there seems to be more to the story than meets the eye.
Howard Stern -- an influential radio jock who has had his share of feuds with Hollywood celebrities - poked fun at Chet Haze as a rapper for the nth time. It turns out Stern has been doing it since 2011, when the Hollywood heir embarked on a rapping career. Back then, Stern hurled insults at Chet, pointedly stating where he grew up and using cuss words.
Stern's dissing went on for years, at some point stating how Chet was taking the black culture and wanting to be a gangster. Fed up, Chet retaliated through a barrage of Twitter rants. It's clearly a case of taunting that has gone berserk, since Chester Hanks has recently threatened to assault the radio jock. The medium used: the traditional form of media which is radio, and social media.
Chet's tirades did not sit well with some people. Incidentally, the rapper has gotten bad rap for his cocaine & alcohol addiction, though he has reportedly come out of rehabilitation. Another person who has become a target of Chet's social media rants is daytime talk show host Wendy Williams, who called him a 'cornball' and pointed out his "just out of rehab" look.
If there's one thing that can be learned from all this brouhaha, it's that those in media who make insensitive and insulting remarks must learn the proper standard for judging. Then again, mere insults don't warrant threats made to other people's lives.
So what does Tom Hanks have to say about all these? It appears like he has opted to stay in the sidelines and let the whole thing blow over.
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