‘You got a friend in me!’: Tom Hanks’ sweet letter to bullied Australian boy

Tom Hanks has won the hearts of people around the globe yet again with a sweet gesture to an Australian boy named Corona who has been on the receiving end of bullying during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Eight-year-old Corona De Vries, from the Gold Coast, reached out to Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson earlier this month after the Hollywood couple had returned home — and this week he finally received a response, 7 News reports.

The young Queensland boy had asked in his letter how the couple were feeling after contracting coronavirus while in Australia and said he was a bit sad because of the bullying.

“I love my name but at school people call me the coronavirus,” he wrote according to 7 News. “I get very sad and angry when people call me this.”

Hanks promptly sent a reply to Corona along with a special Corona brand typewriter to help the two keep in touch. In the letter, which was shared to the 7 News Twitter page, Hanks thanked Corona for reaching out and said it made him feel much better.

.@tomhanks has written a heart-felt letter to a young Gold Coast boy named Corona. The 8-year-old was being bullied at school and decided to write to the Hollywood superstar and his wife @RitaWilson, after they were diagnosed with Coronavirus. https://t.co/b3nAU20I54 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/UpUAb8gHRX

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) April 23, 2020

“Dear friend Corona,” Hanks began. “Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful! Thank you for being such a good friend – friends make their friends feel good when they are down.

“I saw you on TV, even though I was back in the USA already – and all healthy. Even though I was no longer sick, getting your letter made me feel even better. You know, you are the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown.”

“I thought this typewriter would suit you. I had taken it to the Gold Coast and now it is back – with you. Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write back me back. P.s you got a friend in me!”

The kind gesture has received a lot of attention from fans who praised Hanks for taking the time and effort to reply to the young Aussie boy.

“What an amazing thing to do @tomhanks and @RitaWilson. And you’ve introduced a new typewriterist to Queensland! #lovely,” @janehhodgkinson commented on Twitter.

“What a lovely selfless thing to do. A true friend @tomhanks & @RitaWilson,” @WeeSandra57 said. While @bolliewood added: “What a lovely letter and such a cool gift.”

While Hanks is back in the USA with his wife Rita having fully recovered from Covid-19, it wasn’t an easy road for the actor who spoke out recently about the effect the virus had on him while in the Land Down Under.

Speaking with The National Defense Radio Show in the US, Hanks said the main symptoms he experienced were body aches and feeling very fatigued, to the point where he could barely even manage to do simple stretching exercises.

“I just tried to do basic stretches and exercises on the floor and I couldn’t even get halfway through,” he told the military radio show.

However, the veteran actor revealed he got off lightly compared to his wife of more than 30 years, singer and actress Rita Wilson, who also fell ill with coronavirus on the Gold Coast, having flown to Australia to spend time with her husband and perform a string of solo gigs.

“She was so nauseous, she had to crawl on the floor from the bed to the facilities. It lasted a while,” he said. “Rita went through a tougher time than I did. She had a much-higher fever and she had some other symptoms.

“She lost her sense of taste and smell. She got absolutely no joy from food for a better part of three weeks.”