Hanks: I'm Still For Clinton
It didn't take Tom Hanks long to disavow published reports that he regretted contributing money to President Clinton's legal defense fund.
Monday night, he was honored in New York at an event sponsored by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), and he paused to tell CBS This Morning Contributor Eleanor Mondale that he remains a staunch supporter of the president, even though, he says, "there's been a couple of times over the last year where sitting, reading that morning paper, I slapped myself upside the head and said, 'What the heck is this?'"
But he says he donated $10,000 to the president's legal defense fund, "and if I had never done that, and he asked me today, I'd probably give twice as much."
The New Yorker magazine quotes him in its current issue as saying he regretted making the donation in light of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Hanks says his biggest regret now is that the country is still going through the whole thing.
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At the AmFAR event Monday night, Hanks was the center of attention, sharing the spotlight with fellow honorees Barbara Walters and music mogul Clive Davis. AmFar chairwoman Sharon Stone recognized the trio for their contributions in the fight against AIDS.
"Tom Hanks has done a tremendous amount for AIDS awareness worldwide because he fearlessly played someone who had AIDS," Stone said, referring to the actor's Oscar-winning performance in the movie Philadelphia (1993).
Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, and Sean "Puffy" Combs all performed at the benefit dinner.
Since 1985, AmFAR has invested nearly $150 million in support for its programs, primarily through grants to 1,745 research teams. Matilda Krim, director of AmFAR, says her goal is to find a vaccine against AIDS, and that's why all the funds raised by AmFAR go into research.