On Wednesday night, actor Colin Hanks made an appearance at the world premiere of American Crime Story: Impeachment.
Hanks—who is the son of actor Tom Hanks–plays Associate Independent Counsel Mike Emmick in the FX limited series about the controversial events that nearly ended former President Bill Clinton's presidency.
On the red carpet, Variety's Marc Malkin discussed the show with Hanks but also inquired about his half-brother, Chet Hanks, who famously made anti-vax comments and downplayed the viral pathogen by comparing it to the "flu."
"But your brother recently talked about not wanting vaccines and how this is just like the flu," said Malkin of Chet Hanks. "How are you feeling about that?"
In response to his brother's statement, Colin Hanks responded to Malkin with:
"That's one person's opinion."
Colin Hanks reacts to his brother Chet's recent comments about not wanting the vaccine: "That's one person's opinion." https://bit.ly/3jDzNaM\u00a0pic.twitter.com/4KvrapyRPi— Variety (@Variety) 1630544433
But what social media users fixated on most was the off-camera reporter's gruff voice, which many social media users thought sounded uncannily like the popular character "Grover," from Sesame Street.
You can watch the reference clip below and decide for yourself if you think Malkin was channeling the beloved blue monster in his interview.
Happy #LaborDay to all the dedicated and hardworking people of the world who can relate to our friend @Grover. We appreciate you! pic.twitter.com/tUlxac30bR— Sesame Street (@Sesame Street) 1630940442
Since the interview clip shared by Variety did not show Malkin, users had their suspicions about what he looked like.
Grover reportingpic.twitter.com/s7wdan2HlN— Duncan Rouleau (@Duncan Rouleau) 1630558161
I assume the reporter looks like thispic.twitter.com/w2B85zglEv— Obese, tyrannnical monkey (@Obese, tyrannnical monkey) 1630549539
But your brother.... Recently.... Um talked about not wanting vaccines.. and how this is just like the flu..... How are you feeling about that?pic.twitter.com/d1XI6V6h7E— Chet (@Chet) 1630586467
Some liberties were taken.
pic.twitter.com/EPhT7fGqSU— 5 Meats Comics (@5 Meats Comics) 1630599163
Same vibespic.twitter.com/1vAG8plo7G— Fili Laufeyson (@Fili Laufeyson) 1630544736
Man I am laughing so much with the reporter voice , i dunno how Colin did not laugh XDDDD— Sori- MODE: BERSERK FOREVER (@Sori- MODE: BERSERK FOREVER) 1630614145
Malkin took the Grover reference in stride and gave an affirmative response to a user asking if the personality interviewing Hanks was the popular Muppet.
Totally!— Marc Malkin (@Marc Malkin) 1630552724
Chet Hanks is the son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who were both hospitalized after contracting the viral pathogen while in Australia during the early stage of the pandemic last March.
Also known by his rap name "Chet Hanx," the Hollywood scion received backlash for posting a video seemingly encouraging everyone to get vaccinated to "get this [situation] under control," but then pivoting to a blistering rant against the vaccine.
"Pysch, b*tch," he yelled, adding:
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I never had [the virus]. Y'all ain't sticking me with that motherf'king needle."
"It's the motherf'king flu. 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."
People commented on the awkward position Colin Hanks was in when asked about his half-brother's vaccine hesitancy.
That was such a dumb question to ask him! He was there to promote a movie! Stop with the gotcha journalism !— Justin Jenkins (@Justin Jenkins) 1630544666
I am sooo glad I don\u2019t have to answer for my siblings\u2026 what relevance is that question to the event he\u2019s at?— lurch \ud83d\udd96 (@lurch \ud83d\udd96) 1630601924
Opinion? Your brother is literally creating another variant right now. He's one of the reasons why this pandemic will never end!— Sonic Colours Ultimate is great, y'all are mean (@Sonic Colours Ultimate is great, y'all are mean) 1630560287
The way Colin wants to be removed from his brother's narrative https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1433233349850525698\u00a0\u2026— Ronke Lawal (@Ronke Lawal) 1630579975
Haha he might as well been like:pic.twitter.com/ZGJnYQAVY2— Melissa, Introvert Extraordinaire\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf2 (@Melissa, Introvert Extraordinaire\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf2) 1630544899
At least Tom and Rita have one kid that isn\u2019t crazy.— jenflower8 (@jenflower8) 1630548175
American Crime Story: Impeachment is about the first impeachment of a president in over a century and is told from the perspectives of three women, Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein), Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson) and Paula Jones (Annaleigh Ashford).
The 10-episode third season of the anthology series starts Tuesday, September 7, on FX.
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