Tom Hanks called film critics “cocksuckers” in a joking tirade in an interview with Conan O'Brien.

Hanks appeared on O'Brien's podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend to promote his new film Here and was released after his directorial debut That Thing You Do! asked, which was released in 1996 – which O'Brien says is now , which is considered a “cult classic” after an initially disappointing reception.

Hanks responded by saying, “Let me tell you about these cocksuckers who write about movies…” He then described a writer who criticized That Thing You Do! on its release because it looked like it was “made on TV and not much of anything”, and then much later described the film as a “cult classic”.

Hanks isn't the only major Hollywood personality to attack critics. Angry at the negative coverage of his latest film, “Megalopolis,” Francis Ford Coppola said it was “unforgivable to attack a film because it doesn't conform to Hollywood's current rules,” and released a trailer for the film, allegedly criticizing negative reviews from earlier films used by him. (The trailer was quickly pulled after the quotes were revealed to be fake.) Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron also responded to negative comments about his work, saying, “You know what? Let me see your three of the four highest-grossing films – then let’s talk about the effectiveness of the dialogue.”

However, Hanks quickly adopted a conciliatory tone and said, “But you know, this is what we all chose.” This is the carnival, this is the competition, right? I have faith in that.”

Directed by Robert Zemeckis and billed as a “Forrest Gump reunion,” the film, starring an aging Hanks alongside Gump co-star Robin Wright, was widely panned by critics, including a one-star review from Benjamin Lee from the Guardian.