Here Are the Rules of White Boy Summer, According to Chet Hanks Himself

You might have heard that Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, has declared summer 2021 to be "White Boy Summer." The racially charged nature of that statement — which appeared to be a spinoff of Meg Thee Stallion's "Hot Girl Summer" — propelled the idea to viral infamy. Since then, Chet has clarified it isn't actually White Boy Summer unless it's everybody's summer, among other guidelines.

Let's take a closer look at the White Boy Summer rules, according to Chet himself.

In a now-viral Instagram post, Chet declared in the video's caption, "Is it bout to be a #WhiteboySummer or am I trippin ???? Tag a REAL vanilla king #Respectfully."

"Okay guys, look I just wanted to tap in really quick. I just got this feeling, man, that this summer is about to be a white boy summer, you know?" he explained in the clip.

Chet continued, "Take it how you want. I’m not talking about Trump, you know, NASCAR type white. I’m talking about me, Jon B, Jack Harlow type white boy summer. Let me know if you guys can vibe with that and get ready, because I am." 

On March 27, Chet laid out some White Boy Summer rules in his Instagram Stories.

"Rule number 1, to all my white boys out there, no plaid shirts," he explained. "Rule number 2, no Sperry topsiders. That's not the type of white boys we're talking about dawg! ... No calling girls 'smoke shows' okay? That term, it's played out dude."

Chet elaborated on the inclusivity of White Boy Summer in a different Instagram post: "You know they've been asking me, 'Chet, if it's going to be a White Boy Summer, does that make it a Black Queen Summer for you? And I said, 'Do you know me? Because if you do, then you know that's all year 'round, respectfully."

He returned to Instagram on March 28 to share another important rule for the trending term. "You know what's not White Boy Summer? This is the epitome of not White Boy Summer, is having ill will against or prejudice against anybody from a different background, race, walk of life than you, you know?" he said in the video.

He went on to add, "Having any ill will whatsoever toward anybody that's different from you, that's not White Boy Summer. That's the sh-t that we've got to elevate and get rid of. The real vibes is just having nothing but good vibes toward everybody."

He also rocked a "Black Queen Summer" shirt in a different Instagram video, which seems to be part of a line of clothing that he's creating in response to his White Boy Summer idea going viral. Other options will include: Black King Summer, Brown Boy Summer, Latina Queen Summer, Asian Boy Summer, and Asian Queen Summer.

"It's everybody's summer, baby, don't let them tell you different ... I got something for everybody. Just stay tuned," he teased.

On April 2, Chet had a conversation with Lucci Babi, a Black hip-hop artist, about his thoughts on White Boy Summer.

"Hey, look bro, we don't know each other. We just met, right? I just want to know: How do you feel when you hear White Boy Summer?" Chet asked.

To that, Lucci Babi replied, "To be honest, it's a Black King Summer, it's a White Boy Summer — so it's our summer. As long as we meet in the middle and we rule our kingdoms evenly, we all family."

Chet then acknowledged the most important White Boy Summer rule of them all.

"There's only one rule for White Boy Summer, and that it's not White Boy Summer unless it's everybody's summer," he explained. "I don't want to hear no white boys going up to each other like, 'Yeah bro, this is our summer.' Nah! If you like that, then you not tapped in, you not White Boy Summer. Leave the salmon shorts at home. It's only White Boy Summer if it's everybody's summer. Don't ever get it twisted."

For even more White Boy Summer rules, Chet invited followers to sign up for his new acting program, called "Actor's Advantage." He also launched a line of merch that has completely sold out.

Regardless of how you feel about Chet Hanks, one thing's for sure: He sure knows how to cash in on viral fame.