Netflix is making a film called The Thanksgiving Text about the grandma in Mesa, Arizona, who began a new Thanksgiving tradition when she accidentally invited a stranger to Thanksgiving dinner.
Jamal Hinton was 17-years-old in 2016 when he received a text message letting him know to be at his grandma’s at 3 p.m. for Thanksgiving dinner. Puzzled, Hinton asked who was texting.
Wanda Dench thought she was texting her grandson when she sent the Thanksgiving text, and when Hinton asked who she was, Dench replied that it was his grandmother. He then asked for a picture, which Dench sent. Hinton also sent Dench a photo with a text saying he was not her grandson but jokingly asked if he could still have a plate.
To his surprise, the grandma said yes, and the Hinton has been celebrating Thanksgiving with the Dench family ever since. The story went viral after Hinton posted the story on social media with a copy of the Thanksgiving text messages.
The two new friends posed for pictures each Thanksgiving with Dench’s husband, Lonnie, and Hinton’s girlfriend, Mikaela.
Somebody grandma is coming in clutch this year!! Ayee!!! pic.twitter.com/QGrx83nHLl
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 15, 2016
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Hinton and his family were invited to the following year and every Thanksgiving since by Dench. They’ve also spent time together aside from Thanksgiving dinner.
Sadly, Dench’s husband passed away from COVID-19 in April of 2020, and she wasn’t looking forward to dinner that year.
“I wasn’t looking forward to [Thanksgiving dinner] at first because Lonnie wasn’t going to be there,” said Dench in 2020. “The past seven months have been so difficult, but this was really important to me.”
I am very excited to announce our new partnership with Netflix. We thank every single one of you for your love and support in our journey the last 6 years. We can’t wait to tell our story on the big screen! 🎥🍾 pic.twitter.com/0heCmEWMDM
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) December 2, 2021
The two are excited about the new Netflix movie, which is still being cast. They released a joint statement exclusively to Variety about their friendship.
“We are excited to share our story with the world. We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make,” read the statement. “We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”
