Tom Hanks Shouts at Group of Fans to ‘Back the F—’ Off After Causing Wife to Trip

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were just trying to have a nice night out in New York City Wednesday night when a group of people swarmed them, begging for photos and autographs on their way to their car. After one fan caused Wilson to trip, Hanks turned and demanded they back away, cursing as he yelled. Hanks is known for his nice-guy persona, but he was understandably not happy.

In footage published by TMZ Thursday, Hanks and Wilson are seen being led from their hotel to their black SUVs by security. Right after they left the building, a group of people scrambled to follow them. One man bumped into Wilson, and she tripped. Hanks stopped, turned around, and held up his hands. “This is my wife, back the f— off,” Hanks yelled before they got in their car.

Hanks, 65, and Wilson, 65, married in 1988 and recently celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary. Although they have their own successful careers, Hanks and Wilson often travel together. They were both in Nashville for the 2022 CMA Fest last week, where Wilson performed at Chevy Vibes Stage at Walk of Fame Park. Hanks watched from under a tent as Wilson sang her latest songs. Wilson was also by Hanks’ side in 2020 when he tested positive for COVID-19 in Australia.

Hanks was in Australia during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic to shoot Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, the new Elvis Presley biopic starring Austin Butler in the title role. Hanks stars as Presley’s manager, the controversial Colonel Tom Parker, a rare villain role for Hanks. The movie opens on June 24.

In a new interview with The New York Times, Hanks said he stopped posting on Twitter because of the disturbing responses he would get to posting pictures of innocuous things like shoes. Hanks has a verified Twitter account, but he hasn’t used it since May 2020.

“I stopped posting because, number one, I thought it was an empty exercise,” Hanks explained. “I have enough attention on me. But also I’d post something goofy like, “Here’s a pair of shoes I saw in the middle of the street,” and the third comment would be, ‘[Expletive] you, Hanks.’ I don’t know if I want to give that guy the forum. If the third comment is ‘[Expletive] you, you Obama loving communist,’ it’s like, I don’t need to do that.”