Chris Hemsworth reveals why 9-year-old son doesn’t call him dad

Actor Chris Hemsworth has defended his parenting and explained why his son doesn’t call him dad.

Growing up, your parents likely had a lot of rules.

One of those golden rules was likely that you know them as mum, dad, maybe mother or father, maybe even sir or miss.

But under no circumstances would you call them by their first name. In fact, this would apply to most adults when you are a child.

It was considered disrespectful and even when you do become an adult, it's still likely you don’t refer to them by their first name, even if they are more likely a buddy than a parent.

Earlier this week, actor Chris Hemsworth caused confusion after footage he shared on Instagram showed his nine-year-old son calling him 'Chris':

The Marvel actor posted a bunch of pictures and videos to his Instagram page earlier this week, showing off a fun family fishing trip in Fiji.

“My son wanted to catch a fish for the locals in Fiji and after 3 attempts and about 12 hrs at sea we pulled in this beauty. Fed the village for 3 days,” he wrote in the Instagram caption.

“Come on, Chris! Keep on fighting it,” one of his nine-year-old twin boys, Sasha and Tristan, could be heard saying in the background.

In the second section of the Instagram caption, Hemsworth addressed this moment.

He said: “Ps if your wondering why my son calls me Chris it’s because I’m his BFF and true mates don’t call each other dad."

Instagram/chrishemsworth

However, many social media users were hardly convinced and questioned whether this was the best approach to parenting.

“It’s sad he doesn’t call you dad. Being a dad is special,” one user wrote.

“Did you call your dad by his first name? Going to be interesting when you need to be their dad and not their friend,” another pointed out.

“If I had called my parent by their first name, they would've slapped me into 2045,” joked one user.

Some others didn’t see it as a big deal, however.

Instagram/chrishemsworth

“Hahah! My daughter calls her dad by his name too (he’s also a Chris). He doesn’t care either. It’s just a phase they go through sometimes. Great catch by the way,” one user wrote defending Hemsworth.

“What's the problem? I call my dad by his name because he loves to and we're friends more than a dad and a son. Call your dad by the name he loves,” wrote another.

What about you? Do you call your parents by their first name?

Topics: Chris Hemsworth, Celebrity

Gerrard Kaonga

Gerrard is a Journalist at UNILAD and has dived headfirst into covering everything from breaking global stories to trending entertainment news. He has a bachelors in English Literature from Brunel University and has written across a number of different national and international publications. Most notably the Financial Times, Daily Express, Evening Standard and Newsweek.