unilad homepage
unilad homepage
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • World News
    • Crime
    • Health
    • Money
    • Sport
    • Travel
  • Music
  • Technology
  • Film and TV
    • News
    • DC Comics
    • Disney
    • Marvel
    • Netflix
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Tom Hanks majorly snubbed at awards following controversial order made by Trump
Home>Celebrity>News
Updated 17:01 7 Sep 2025 GMT+1Published 13:09 7 Sep 2025 GMT+1

Tom Hanks majorly snubbed at awards following controversial order made by Trump

The move comes as Trump rebranded the Department of Defense

Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Tom Hanks has been prevented from receiving an award due to a clash with a controversial order by Donald Trump.

Earlier this week on Friday (September 5) President Trump officially signed off on his 200th executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense back to the name it last held in 1949, the Department of War.

Announcing the change, the POTUS said: "We won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything before that and in between, and then we decided to go woke, and we changed the name to DoD. So, we’re going Department of War.

"I think it's a much more appropriate name, in light of where the world is right now," he added. "It sends a message of victory.”

Advert

While historians have claimed the name was initially changed after the Second World War to reflect the US' position in preventing further conflict, the Trump administration has doubled down that the country is going 'maximum lethality' as opposed to what the newly titled War Secretary Pete Hegseth described as 'tepid legality.'

He signed the order on Friday (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He signed the order on Friday (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Now, it has emerged that the name change has had an unexpected consequence for actor Tom Hanks.

The 69-year-old Saving Private Ryan actor was due to attend a West Point alumni event in his honor on September 25, during which Hanks was due to receive an award.

The military academy's president and CEO, retired Army Colonel Mark Bieger, announced the ceremony had been cancelled on the same day Trump made the announcement.

Hanks, who has never served in the military but stands as a strong advocate for veterans, was due to receive the Sylvanus Thayer Award.

The West Point Association of Graduates issues the award to non-alumni who 'draw wholesome comparison' to its motto: 'Duty, honor, country,' reports Daily Mail.

Hanks was due to receive an award this month (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
Hanks was due to receive an award this month (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

Bieger wrote in the email notifying attendees of the cancelled event: "This decision allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world’s most lethal force, the United States Army."

The axed ceremony comes as Hanks recently landed himself in hot water for portraying a Trump supporter as a 'racist redneck' in a Saturday Night Live skit in February.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration claims the name change is entirely to 'do with winning.'

"We should have won every war. We could have won every war. But we really chose to be very politically correct or wokey and we just fight forever," the 79-year-old said on Friday.

"We just didn't fight to win. We didn't lose anything, but we didn't fight to win."

LADbible Group has contacted West Point and Hank's representatives for comment.

Featured Image Credit: John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Topics: Tom Hanks, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Military

Liv Bridge
Liv Bridge

Liv Bridge is a digital journalist who joined the UNILAD team in 2024 after almost three years reporting local news for a Newsquest UK paper, The Oldham Times. She's passionate about health, housing, food and music, especially Oasis...

X

@livbridge

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
a day ago
  • Christopher Polk/2026GG/Penske Media via Getty Images
    5 hours ago

    White House hits back at Ariana Grande after she slams use of her music in 'barbaric' video

    The Wicked star's song has now been removed from the video

    Celebrity
  • Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty ImageS
    a day ago

    Staggering amount Elon Musk could have left if he gave everyone $100 as he becomes world's first trillionaire

    He could hand everyone on the planet $100 dollars and still be one of the richest people alive

    Celebrity
  • Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
    a day ago

    Shaquille O'Neal reveals why he agreed with his ex-wife when she said she never loved him

    Shaquille O'Neal and Shaunie Henderson split in 2009, with the details being recalled in her memoir

    Celebrity
  • Frazer Harrison/WireImage
    a day ago

    Signs of testicular cancer as Dwayne Johnson recalls scare from 'painful' lump

    Dwayne Johnson said he couldn't tell his wife for fear of worrying her

    Celebrity
  • Man takes same cognitive test as Trump and is surprised by results
  • Trump shares message to artists dropping out of his Freedom 250 concert as he suggests backup plan
  • Trump reveals he moved 'most lethal weapon ever made' closer to Russia after threat
  • Tom Cruise 'denied' major offer from Trump after dodging questions about the president