KEY POINTS

  • Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, wants Adele to call him
  • This came after Adele shared a photo of herself sporting a Jamaican flag bikini top and Bantu knots
  • Chet previously received backlash for speaking Jamaican Patois at the Golden Globes

Tom Hanks’ son, Chet Hanks, has reached out to Adele after the Grammy winner sparked controversy with her Carnival photo.

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Chet posted a video of himself jamming out to Adele’s hit song, “Set Fire to the Rain.” Speaking in Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language with West African influences, he complimented one of Adele's photos and urged her to call or message him.

“@theshaderoom PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ADELE HIT MY LINE ASAP !!!!!!!!!!!! I NEED TO TALK TO HER ABOUT SOMETHING,” he wrote in the video's caption, along with 12 Jamaican flag emojis.

Chet's interest in the British singer comes just days after a photo of Adele wearing a Jamaican flag bikini top and Bantu knots, a traditional African hairstyle, went viral. The songstress shared the image to mark the Notting Hill Carnival festivities, which were canceled this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Instagram photo received mixed reactions, with some accusing Adele of cultural appropriation while others viewed her post as an appreciation of the culture.

Chet has received flak for appropriation as well. Earlier this year, he spoke Jamaican Patois in a video congratulating his father for accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes.

While his mother, Rita Wilson, commented on the video saying it was “maybe the best laugh of the night,” quite a few netizens accused the “Empire” star of cultural appropriation.

“If #ChetHanks (@CHETHAZE) had talked in a fake Mexican or Chinese-American accent, this would have been called out for being racist a LONG time ago. Why is he getting a pass because it is a ‘Jamaican’ accent? #racismstillalive,” one Twitter user commented.

Chet responded to the controversy with another Instagram post in which he expressed amusement that his video made the news.

“Average citizens: damn this is scary I can’t believe we’re on the verge of WW3 let me check the news smh @CNN: ????????????????” he wrote.

In another clip, Chet said the internet had “gone mad” over his 2020 Golden Globes video.

“RESPECT TO MI #ISLAND,” he captioned the clip, adding a row of Jamaican flag emojis.

Adele
Adele arrives at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 12, 2017. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni