Tom Hanks' son defends use of N-word

Tom Hanks' son Chet has spoken.

Chet, who goes by the rapper alias Chet Haze, stirred up controversy over his use of the n-word in recent social media postings. It first came to light when Haze urged people on Instagram to listen to a new song he'd worked on with collaborator : "Check out the song me and my n-;- @chillthatdude just dropped on my Soundcloud #Juice LINK IN MY BIO #GoListen!!!"

See more Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films

He began taking heat for his words online and Haze responded in an Instagram post Monday.

"If I say the word n-;- I say it amongst people I love and who love me. If I say 'f-; yall hatin ass n-;-' it's because that's really how I felt at the time," he wrote. "And I don't accept society getting to decide what ANYBODY can or can't say. That's something we call FREE SPEECH."

He went on to write about the historical implications of the word.

"Now I understand the older generation who grew up in the Jim Crowe era might have strong feelings against this. And that's understandable," Haze wrote. "But what I'm saying is this is 2015...; And even tho we are still far from where we need to be and black people are still being literally KILLED by a RACIST and f-;- up system...; We have also reached a point where the word can no longer have a negative connotation if we so choose."

He also questioned the idea that he shouldn't be allowed to use the n-word because of his race.

See more 10 Highest Grossing Movie Sequels

"And who is to say only black people can use it? The way I see it, it's a word that unifies the culture of HIP-HOP across ALL RACES, which is actually kind of a beautiful thing," wrote Haze. "It's a word that can be used out of camaraderie and love, not just exclusively for black people. What's the point in putting all these built up 'rules' about it. It's time to let go. You can hate me or love me for it, but can't nobody tell me what I can or can't say."

Check out his full post below.



More from The Hollywood Reporter
'Magic Mike' Star Adam Rodriguez Joins 'Empire'
Emmys: On the Set of HBO's Startup Comedy 'Silicon Valley'
Universal Tells 'Blurred Lines' Judge Not to Violate Its Seventh Amendment Right