A quick look back at 2016 reveals just how contentious the year was, from the all too real knock-down drag-out battle of the presidential race, to the more manufactured drama of the latest trompe l’oeil/viral meme à la The Dress. It seemed like everyone was taking a stance and defending it vehemently, whether it was to argue the color of some flip-flops, or correctly identify the crying celebrity in this photo. The latter discussion kicked up in October, when a four-year-old picture of a man credited as Bill Murray began making the internet rounds. Despite the caption, a heated debate soon arose over whether the rapscallion playfully mocking an infant was in fact Murray, or if it was actually Tom Hanks.
With people worrying about just how civil their holiday dinners would be while this matter remained in question, America’s Dad stepped in to begin the healing. In a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Hanks confirmed that the photo is of Murray.
What’s Hanks’ proof? He knows he’s never taken that photo. Uh, okay. Guess that settles that. After clarifying that he’s not Bill Murray, Hanks recreated the photo with some help from Gemma Arterton and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And sure, he does resemble Murray in the photo. Great, now we have to hope no one checks Hanks’ itinerary from four years ago and places him in whatever city Murray was in at the time—that is, if we want to avoid widening another rift in this country.