LOS ANGELES - Chet Hanks, the son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, has been airing his anti-vaccination stance on social media.

The 31-year-old actor-singer's parents were among the first well-known people to contract the virus last March and isolated in an Australian hospital with severe symptoms.

In a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday (Aug 10), he started off by acting solemn and pretending to encourage followers to get vaccinated, but then did an about-face and screamed: "You ain't sticking me with that motherf***ing needle."

In the expletive-ridden clip, he not only misleadingly compared Covid-19 to the flu, but also told those who were sick to "get over it" and condemned mask-wearing, saying he was tired of it.

Last year, his father told reporters after getting Covid-19 that wearing a mask is "so simple, so easy" and those who did not practise hand-washing, distancing and mask-wearing should be ashamed of themselves.

During his parents' battle with Covid-19, Chet Hanks released a video, saying of his parents: "They're not even that sick."

After their recovery, the couple had encouraged people to get vaccinated.

On Wednesday (Aug 11), Chet Hanks doubled down on his stance and posted another video filled with misinformation.

He defended his right to remain unvaccinated, ranting: "I wanted to, but my immune system said it's good. It doesn't need to be tampered with."

"Let's be real, 99 per cent of you motherf***ers wouldn't use a shampoo that's not FDA-approved," he added, referring to the United States' Food and Drug Administration. "But you're willing to get some experimental government injection."

He said: "There's more evidence for UFOs being real than that vaccine being healthy for you."

The younger Hanks, who is the black sheep of the family, has courted controversy frequently in the past, such as when he discussed conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati and was accused of cultural appropriation.