(CNN) — Rita Wilson wants you to know that those awkward photos doing the rounds of what appears to be a tense moment on a red carpet in Cannes on Tuesday with her husband Tom Hanks are not what they seem.
On Wednesday, Wilson posted a message to his Instagram Stories clarifying exactly what happened amid speculation that the captured moment was heated.
“This is called I can’t hear you. People are screaming. What did you say? Where are we supposed to go?” Wilson wrote. And he added: “But that doesn’t sell stories! Nice try. We had a great time.”
He also encouraged his fans to go see “Asteroid City” by director Wes Anderson, which starred Hanks and was the premiere of the film they were attending when the photos were taken.
It is not the first time that a famous person has denied rumors on the Internet related to viral photos or videos that have captured what appears to be a tense moment.
(From left to right) Cannes Film Festival staff member Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the premiere of “Asteroid City” Tuesday in France. Antonin Thuillier/AFP/Getty Images
In September 2022, a video from the Venice Film Festival went viral showing singer Harry Styles making a move that led some to believe he had spit on his “Don’t Worry Darling” co-star Chris Pine.
Both Pine and the film’s director and co-star Olivia Wilde have clarified that Styles did not spit on Pine. Even Styles himself joked about the incident during one of his concerts.
Nor should we forget the Ben Affleck memes that went viral during the 2023 Grammy gala, in which the “Air” actor appeared with an exhausted face sitting next to his wife Jennifer López.
Affleck publicly responded to the speculation in March by saying that he did, in fact, have a “good time” at the gala, chalking up their quiet conversation to a simple “husband and wife thing.”
So the lesson here is that while a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, chances are it’s not saying what you think.
