Tom Hanks has broken his silence on his daughter Elizabeth Anne (E.A) Hanks’ bombshell memoir, where she alleges that she suffered abuse at the hands of her mother during her childhood.
For those not up to speed, in April the 42-year-old writer published The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road, in which she claimed that she was abused by her actress mother Samantha Lewes after her parents split.
Lewes, real name Susan Dillingham, was accused of neglecting her kids throughout their childhood after her divorce from the film star in the 80s following five years of marriage.
In the memoir, Elizabeth tragically wrote that her childhood was full of 'confusion, violence, and deprivation'.
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The mistreatment allegedly began when Susan gained full custody of her and brother Colin Hanks, now 47, and moved the family to Sacramento, California.
The writer explained that after a divorce agreement was settled, she would visit her dad and stepmother on the weekends and during summers.
She penned: "From five to 14, years were filled with confusion, violence, deprivation, and love, I was a Sacramento girl."
And going into details on the alleged abuse, she candidly added: "As the years went on, the backyard became so full of dog s**t that you couldn’t walk around it.
"The fridge was bare or full of expired food more often than not, and my mother spent more and more time in her big four-poster bed, pouring over the Bible.
"One night, her emotional violence became physical violence."
And now, Hanks has responded to his daughter's claims in a conversation with Access Hollywood on May 26, as he attended the red carpet premiere of his movie The Phoenician Scheme.
The actor told the publication: "It’s a pride because she’s been very open about what the process is.
"I’m not surprised that my daughter had the wherewithal as well as the curiosity to examine this thing that I think she was incredibly honest about.”
He continued: “We all come from checkered, cracked lives, all of us.
“She’s a knockout, always has been. If you’ve had kids, you realise that you see who they are when they’re about 6 weeks old.”
During a 2020 interview, Hanks previously described the experience of divorcing his wife as a 'horribly painful time'.
Elizabeth noted that she lived with her mum until seventh grade, until she allowed her to move to Los Angeles while visiting Sacramento over weekends and summers.
It wasn't long before her mother told her that she was battling bone cancer, and died at the age of 49 in 2002 as a result.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
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Madison Burgess