Rita Wilson Disputes False Reports That She and Her Husband, Tom Hanks, Yelled at a Staffer at the Cannes Film Festival

On May 23, Rita Wilson and her husband, Tom Hanks, were spotted on the red carpet at the 76th Cannes Film Festival – which is being held between May 16 and 27 in Cannes, France. The couple is helping to promote their new film, Asteroid City, which celebrated its world premiere at the festival. 

While on the red carpet, Wilson and Hanks were photographed as they talked to a staffer – though it didn’t look like a casual conversation. Instead, it appeared as if Hanks and Wilson were yelling at the staffer – with Hanks looking angry as he pointed at the staffer and Wilson raising a finger at him, as well.

Several photos went viral online as many people and outlets speculated on the incident, but Wilson is ready to put an end to that speculation. Taking to her Instagram Story, Rita Wilson slammed the rumors and confirmed they weren’t yelling at the staffer at all – in fact, it was a completely harmless conversation.

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“This is called I can’t hear you. People are screaming. What did you say? Where are we supposed to go? But that doesn’t sell stories! Nice try,” the 66-year-old actress wrote on her Story – further adding that she and her husband had a ‘great time’ at the festival and used the incident as a means to promote the movie. 

“Go see Asteroid City!” the actress concluded in her Story. The film was created, written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson – Roman Coppola helped with the story, while Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson helped with production. It boasts quite a star-studded roster of famous actors and actresses. 

In addition to Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, the cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Jake Ryan, Jeff Goldblum, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Margot Robbie, Willem Dafoe, and so much more. 

The film takes viewers back to 1955 when students and parents from across the world take place in a Junior Stargazer convention – filled with scholarly competition, rest, recreation, comedy, drama, and romance. Tom Hanks plays Stanley Zak, the main character’s (played by Jason Schwartzman) father. 

Staffer Breaks Silence on Interaction With Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks

On Wednesday – the day after the interaction between Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, and a red carpet staffer went viral – the staffer, who was identified as Vincent Chapalain, broke his silence and gave his side of the story. While he admits they were yelling at each other, they were only yelling because it was too loud. 

“Nothing happened at all, the photo is totally misleading,” Chapalain told the Daily Mail on Wednesday. He went on to explain that the couple was asking him if they should stay with their fellow co-stars on the red carpet. Since they couldn’t hear each other speaking normally, they decided to raise their voices.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are one of the most beloved couples in all of Hollywood – which is why the photo went viral, in the first place. The couple first met in 1981, but didn’t start dating until several years later. They got married in 1988 and have had two sons since then – Chet in 1990 and Truman in 1994. 

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Earlier this year, Tom Hanks celebrated a new accomplishment when he starred in the film A Man Called Otto alongside his son, TrumanHanks – who was making his acting debut. Truman ended up playing the younger version of Hanks’ character in the film, which was released on January 6, 2023.