Viral Thanksgiving Tradition Set To Continue For Seventh Year

Photo: @jamalhinton12/Instagram

The internet's favorite Thanksgiving tradition is set to take place for the once again in 2022.

Jamal Hinton will be spending Thanksgiving with Wanda Dench for the seventh consecutive year after a chance text message setup their viral encounter in 2016.

"To answer all your questions, yes Thanksgiving year 7 is planned out! See you guys Thursday!" Hinton tweeted along with a photo of himself alongside Dench outside of a Cheesecake Factory restaurant on Tuesday (November 22).

The initial encounter between Hinton and Dench went viral seven years ago when Dench attempted to make plans with her own grandchildren and mistakenly texted Hinton, who she had never previously met at the time.

Dench, thinking she was texting her grandchild, identified herself as "your grandma" and sent a photo of herself, to which Hinton responded with a photo of himself before asking "Can I still get a plate tho?"

"Of course you can. That's what grandma's do...feed everyone."

Hinton and his girlfriend, Mikaela, obliged and were welcomed with open arms by Dench and her husband, Lonnie, at their Arizona home as photos from the Thanksgiving meetup and screenshots of their interactions were shared thousands of times on social media.

In 2020, Dench hosted Hinton for the first time since her husband had died of COVID-19 complications several months prior.

"As some of you may have already found out tonight Lonnie did not make it," Hinton tweeted in April of 2020. "Wanda told me all the love and support he was receiving put a huge smile on his face, so I thank every single one of you guys for that!"

Hinton shared a photo of himself, Dench and Mikaela alongside a framed picture of Lonnie, as well as a photo from their initial encounter, to mark their fifth annual Thanksgiving and first since Lonnie's passing.

The heartwarming story has garnered massive support on social media, which included several Twitter users questioning whether the meetup would take place this year prior to Hinton's confirmation on Tuesday.

The story will be chronicled in an upcoming Netflix feature film, the streaming service announced last December.


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