Tom Hanks not surprised by his daughter’s allegations against her mother

Hollywood star Tom Hanks says he’s not surprised by his daughter Elizabeth Anne (E.A) Hanks’ memoir. Read further on Dynamite News

Los Angeles: Hollywood star Tom Hanks says he’s not surprised by his daughter Elizabeth Anne (E.A) Hanks' memoir, which claims that his ex-wife and her mother, actress Samantha Lewes, was emotionally and physically abusive, reports Dynamite News correspondent.

According to People, Hanks, 68, addressed the abuse allegations in his daughter’s book ‘The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road’ during a conversation with Access Hollywood on Wednesday, May 26, at the red carpet premiere of his new film, ‘The Phoenician Scheme’.

“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,” Hanks told the outlet. “We all come from checkered, cracked lives, all of us.” “She’s a knockout, always has been,” he continued. “If you’ve had kids, you realise that you see who they are when they’re about 6 weeks old.”

E.A, 43, detailed the abuse she endured from her mother in her book, stating "I would visit my dad and stepmother (and soon enough my younger half brothers) on the weekends and during summers, but from 5 to 14, years filled with confusion, violence, deprivation, and love."

She added, "As the years went on, the backyard became so full of dog s--- that you couldn’t walk around it, the house stank of smoke. 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, poring over the Bible."

The ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Elvis’ actor, tied the knot with Lewes in 1977 before divorcing her in 1987. Lewes got primary custody following the divorce, with Hanks being given weekly visitation rights. E.A. said she moved to Los Angeles after her mother's alleged abuse took a turn for the worse.

"One night, her emotional violence became physical violence, and in the aftermath I moved to Los Angeles, right smack in the middle of the seventh grade. My custody arrangement basically switched — now I lived in L.A. and visited Sacramento on the weekends and in the summer."

She said during her senior year of high school, her mother called to tell her she was dying. Though her mother was never diagnosed, E.A. believes Lewis was bipolar with episodes of extreme paranoia and delusion.