Did actor Tom Hanks withdraw his 2025 Oscar nominations and leave the United States, saying "I've had enough" in an Instagram video? No, that's not true: This story comes from a self-described satirical website whose About Us page announces it is "dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity." Lead Stories found no sign in Hanks' Instagram page or online news archives that he is emigrating or turning down Oscar nominations.
The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on November 25, 2024. It read:
Tom Hanks Withdraws Oscar Nominations and Leaves U.S.: 'I've Had Enough'
satire
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Nov 27 14:00:59 2024 UTC)
The word "satire" appears in on-screen text.
A link to an article (archived here) going into more detail about the claim was posted in the comments. The article claimed that Hanks posted a "teary-eyed" video on his Instagram account, where he said "This isn't the America I wanted," allegedly reacting to Donald Trump becoming president-elect after the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
At the very end of the article, is a note in bold, that read:
NOTE: This is SATIRE, It's Not True.
The About Us page on the site begins (archived here):
Welcome to the US page of Esspots (A Subsidiary of SpaceXMania.com specializing in Satire and Parody News), your one-stop destination for satirical news and commentary about the United States of America. Our team of writers and editors is dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity, all with a healthy dose of humor and satire.
Lead Stories went to Hanks' official Instagram page (archived here) and looked for the video described in the article. Since the alleged video was a reaction to Trump becoming president-elect, Lead Stories looked at every post from November 6, 2024 (the day after Election Day) to November 27, 2024 (the day this article was written), and found no matches. A Google search for this video (archived here) was also conducted and no links to the purported video were found.
A Google News search for any reputable news articles that reported on this claim yielded nothing as well (archived here).
The article also alleged that the Oscars released a brief statement concerning Hanks' purported withdrawing from his Oscar nominations, stating: "Tom Hanks has always been a pillar of integrity in the entertainment industry. While we regret his decision, we respect his stance." Lead Stories searched for this statement on the Oscar's website and found no evidence that it was real (archived here).
We have reached out to Hanks' publicist and will update this article when a relevant response is received.
More Lead Stories fact checks of claims concerning Tom Hanks are here.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims surrounding the 2024 U.S. presidential election are here.
