About

Tom Hanks "Back the Fuck Off" is a viral video from paparazzi showing Tom Hanks yelling at a group of fans and photographers who accidentally pushed his wife Rita Wilson while trying to ask them questions and take photos in mid-June 2022. After the clip landed on Twitter, the video inspired multiple reactions and memes using the quote as a soundbite or reference, particularly with Hanks' character Woody from Toy Story.

Origin

On June 16th, 2022, the Daily Mail^[1] shared a video taken by paparazzi agency Splash News that showed actor Tom Hanks yelling at a group of fans who accidentally knocked into his wife Rita Wilson, causing her to trip. On the same day, Twitter^[2] user MikeSington reposted the video, earning roughly 2.5 million views and 21,500 likes in one day (shown below).

Spread

Multiple reactions and memes surfaced on social media following the aforementioned tweet, mostly in the form of replies and quote retweets. For instance, on June 16th, 2022, Twitter^[3] user LilRevive added the audio to a Toy Story clip where Hanks' character Woody is yelling at Buzz Lightyear, earning roughly 32,600 views and 2,800 likes in one day (shown below).

Also on June 16th, Twitter^[4] user ScrubUnoriginal reposted the Daily Mail's video, earning roughly 3.1 million views and 39,000 likes in one day. Twitter users beneath both viral reposts had similar reactions.

One trend, in particular, was screenshotting one of the fans seen in the video, a skinny white kid who looked shocked at what Hanks yelled. For instance, on June 16th, Twitter^[5] user FanGrodin simply tweeted the screenshot, earning roughly 2,700 likes in one day (shown below, left). Twitter^[6] user gazebospills tweeted a similar reply, captioning the screenshot with, "This is a joker origin moment," and earning roughly 1,800 likes in the same amount of time (shown below, right).

Others tried to pinpoint who was to blame for tripping Rita Wilson. For instance, Twitter^[7] user nnocera2580 highlighted a man wearing a baseball cap as the primary offender in a tweet that joked about him blaming the people behind him. The tweet received roughly 1,900 likes in one day (shown below, left). Twitter^[8] user hankhillwbeard argued against claims that the skinny kid was to blame in a reply that received roughly 2,100 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Overall, many internet users believed Hanks was not overreacting to the crowd that pushed Wilson. For instance, Twitter^[9] user TINOTONITINl posted a quote tweet on June 16th reading, "BREAKING: tom hanks reacts like a normal human being," earning roughly 8,600 likes in one day (shown below).

Various Reactions

Search Interest

External References