Tom Hanks' Son Chet Faces Backlash For Anti-Vax Tirade After Parents' COVID-19 Battle

Chet Hanks has revealed his stance on vaccination.

The 31-year-old son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson — who were among the first celebrities to publicly share their COVID-19 diagnosis last year — raised eyebrows Monday when he posted a video on Instagram mocking vaccines.

He started the clip by speaking about the importance of getting vaccinated, saying, "I've been kind of on the fence about this for a while, that's why I never spoke on it. But with the amount of people that I know recently that have gotten COVID, and with the numbers rising, I think it's important for me to say like, I got the vaccine, I think everybody should."

Chet went on to speak about the obligation Americans have to one another to keep their countrymen safe before suddenly changing his tune halfway through the video. "Psych, b--ch!" he said. "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ve never had COVID. They ain’t sticking me with that motherf–king needle."

The "Shameless" actor then falsely claimed that COVID-19 is the "flu," saying, "Get over it, OK? If you're sick, stay inside. OK, why we working around y'all? If you're in danger, stay your ass inside. I'm tired of wearing a motherf–king mask."

Chet also shared a post on his Instagram Stories that claimed the COVID-19 vaccine should be a "choice" rather than a "requirement to perform our basic rights."

The singer's posts immediately sparked backlash on social media, with one user commenting, "Not Shabba Hanks trying to give medical advice. Can he fade into oblivion now? Tom and Rita...I'm so sorry."

"When Tom Hanks got [COVID-19], he tweeted updates and pledged to follow all protocols. Chet Hanks is a hack who doesn’t care about his parents or if anyone else gets [COVID-19] and dies," another wrote.

"To be fair, if you’re taking any advice from Chet Hanks about literally anything in life, you need to re-evaluate your entire existence," Doug Russell wrote.

"I'm sure his parents who actually had it are thrilled to hear his medical advice. Dr Chet Haze has spoken," another wrote with a rolling eyes emoji.

However, some of Chet's 527,000 Instagram followers agreed with his sentiments. "EXACTLY," model Neyleen Ashley commented on his video. "I thought you were being serious - HELL NO TO THAT VAX and amen to never getting [COVID-19]."

"You are my idol Chet," Ava Louise wrote. "Chet Hanks for president!!!!" another said.

"People HAVE to stop shaming people for their views when there is ZERO PROOF that the vaccine prevents [COVID-19]. There are too many cases of people getting it AFTER getting vaccinated or getting it again after being vaccinated," another supporter wrote on Twitter.

Tom, 65, and Wilson, 64, expressed support for coronavirus vaccine research since surviving the illness. Last year, the "Cast Away" star and his wife did their part by donating convalescent plasma to help in the fight against COVID-19.

"A lot of the question is, is what now? What do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies," Tom told NPR’s "Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!" show. "We have not only been approached, we have said, ‘Do you want our blood? Can we give plasma?’ And, in fact, we will be giving it now to the places that hope to work on what I would like to call the 'Hank-ccine.'"

COVID-19 has killed more than 618,000 Americans, and infections are on the rise once more.