Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson get Greek citizenship for wildfire aid, but prime minister is criticized

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are officially citizens of Greece, the country's prime minister announced, but what would regularly be a cause for celebration was marred with criticism.

The point of pride for Greece was touched by controversy Monday, when the country’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was criticized by an opposition party for using a military helicopter during a trip to celebrate with the famous couple.

Hanks and Wilson appeared in an Instagram post by Mitsotakis, which showed both actors posing with passports alongside the official and his wife, Mareva Grabowski.

"@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!" the caption read.

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas told the Associated Press Monday that the prime minister and his wife had used a commercial flight on Saturday to travel to the island of Paros, and then traveled to nearby Antiparos, where Hanks and Wilson have a holiday home. They then used a military helicopter for a trip to the ancient theater of Epidaurus on Sunday to watch a performance of an ancient tragedy.

The main left-wing opposition Syriza party accused the prime minister of using Greece’s military helicopters like a “personal radio taxi.” Petsas argued that Mitsotakis was performing his duties as prime minister by attending an “important cultural event.” Neither Petsas nor Syriza referred to Hanks by name.

Greece offered citizenship to Hanks, Wilson and their two children, in recognition of the family’s help in raising funds for the victims of a deadly wildfire near Athens in 2018.

Wilson, 63, is of Greek and Bulgarian ancestry. She and Hanks, 64, frequently spend their summer vacations on the Greek island of Antiparos. USA TODAY has reached out to the couple's representatives for more information.

Last December, Greece’s President Prokopis Pavlopoulos signed an honorary naturalization order allowing the actor to claim Greek citizenship, his office told The Associated Press at the time.

Hanks last celebrated the citizenship news in January, announcing on social media that he was "starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece!"

Under Greek law, honorary naturalization may be granted to people "who have provided exceptional services to the country or whose naturalization serves the public interest."

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Hanks and Wilson have had a roller coaster of a year: After celebrating his honorary citizenship in January, Hanks announced March 11 that he and Wilson had contracted the novel coronavirus while in Australia filming Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley movie.

After two weeks of isolation, the couple was able to return to their home in Los Angeles. They have since recovered, and Hanks made his first appearance post-coronavirus in April as the first host of a remote "Saturday Night Live" from his kitchen.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander and The Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson are Greek citizens, prime minister criticized