“You got a friend in ME”: Tom Hanks’ touching gift for bullied Aussie kid named Corona

Tom Hanks has sent a heartfelt letter and a Corona brand typewriter to an Australian boy who wrote to him about being bullied over his name, Corona.

Corona De Vries from the Gold Coast wrote to the Hollywood celebrity after he and his wife were both tested positive for COVID-19.

The eight-year-old wrote to Hanks saying: “I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the coronavirus,” reported Channel 7.

“Are you OK?”

The boy then mentioned that he was fond of his name, but people at school called him the coronavirus, which made him “sad and angry”.

“Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful!” replied Hanks in a letter typed on a Corona typewriter which he had taken to the Gold Coast.

“You know, you are the only person I’ve ever known to have the name Corona – like the ring around the sun, a crown,” said the star.

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Hey folks. Good News: One week after testing Positive, in self-isolation, the symptoms are much the same. No fever but the blahs. Folding the laundry and doing the dishes leads to a nap on the couch. Bad news: My wife @ritawilson has won 6 straight hands of Gin Rummy and leads by 201 points. But I have learned not to spread my Vegemite so thick. I travelled here with a typewriter, one I used to love. We are all in this together. Flatten the curve. Hanx

A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) on Mar 17, 2020 at 2:19pm PDT

“I thought this typewriter would suit you. Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back.”

Hanks signed off the letter by writing: “P.S. You got a friend in ME!”