Tom Hanks’ Coronavirus Diagnosis Lamented by Stephen Colbert During ‘Late Show’

Upon hearing the news that Tom Hanks was diagnosed with the coronavirus, many people around the world expressed their shock online. Stephen Colbert, who previously hosted The Late Show with Stephen Colbert without an audience amidst the pandemic, had an especially vocal reaction to the news. Shortly after Hanks announced the news on March 11, Colbert issued a bold and humorous message directly to the coronavirus on his late-night talk show.

“Hey, coronavirus, OK, yeah, you can shut down Italy,” Colbert joked about the news amidst the ongoing coronavirus crisis. “You can shut down South Korea. You can destroy our economy. But, keep your filthy, nucleocapsid proteins off Tom Hanks; the man is a national treasure! This is like learning the Liberty Bell has herpes! It ends now!” After he issued this bold message, he was told that this situation was not, in fact, “ending now,” much to his (and the world’s) dismay.

Colbert’s comments about Hanks came during his first-ever show without an audience. The Late Show initially decided to forge ahead with production albeit without an audience in an effort to prevent the spread of the illness amongst its large, in-person audience. Since then, production on the CBS show has since shut down. However, Colbert, like many other late-night talk show hosts, have turned to filming segments of the show from home amidst an increased focus on social distancing and self-isolation measures in the country.

Hanks initially told his fans on social media that both he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

“Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed,” Hanks wrote on Instagram. “We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?”

Ever since they announced their diagnoses, Hanks and Wilson have both kept fans updated on their well-being. Nearly two weeks after announcing the news, the Forrest Gump actor once again took to social media to reveal a positive update about their recovery.

“Hey, folks. Two weeks after our first symptoms and we feel better,” he wrote while offering up some important advice to his followers. “Sheltering in place works like this: You don’t give it to anyone – You don’t get it from anyone. Common sense, no? Going to take awhile, but if we take care of each other, help where we can, and give up some comforts… this, too, shall pass. We can figure it out. Hanx.”