Chet Hanks Confronted Eric André at ComplexCon. Eric André Asked Someone to Call Tom Hanks

This week a video turned up on Chet Hanks's Instagram, and the internet did what the internet does, which is watch it eleven times and form an opinion about everyone's father. In the video, Chet walks up behind Eric André at ComplexCon in Los Angeles and puts a hand on his shoulder. André looks happy to see him for about half a second, then confused. He asks what Chet is talking about, and he walks away with security, calling out for someone to call Tom Hanks.

Now, to understand this, you have to go back to 2023, which is a long time ago in feud years. That's when André said that Chet, during an appearance on one of André's productions, had been, in his words, emotionally disturbed, and had ridden a dirt bike around the set. Chet said he'd simply realized the show was built to troll its guests and had decided to match the energy. André then called him a liar and, as a joke, demanded a DNA test to prove Tom Hanks was really his father.

That last part is the kind of thing that sounds like a joke and is a joke, but you can tell nobody involved found it all that funny. A year later André said the beef was real and that he honestly couldn't remember why the man was mad at him in the first place. That's the most honest thing anybody ever said about a feud. Most of the great family grudges in my life started over something nobody could name by Christmas.

Let's appreciate the craft of André's exit. A lesser man would have argued. André invoked a higher authority. It's what a child does on a playground when a bigger kid comes over, except the higher authority here is Forrest Gump, which is the strongest card anyone has ever played.

The lesson, if there is one: when your entire act is making people uncomfortable, eventually some of them will come and find you at a convention. And when your father is Tom Hanks, everyone you're mad at already knows his name, and will use it.