Joe Biden leaves audience awkwardly laughing after joke about knowing film director since she was underage
Desperate Housewife makes her directorial debut
Reuters
Joe Biden left dignitaries at the White House awkwardly laughing yesterday as he made a series of jokes ahead of a film screening of ‘Flamin’ Hot’.
The directorial debut of former Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria, Flamin’ Hot dramatises the memoir of Richard Monãnez, a Frito-Lay worker who claims to have invented the corn-based snack called Cheetos.
Though the claim was debunked while the film was already in production, Longeria explained to the audience on the South Lawn that she was “telling his truth.”
Longeria, 48, was initially introduced by Biden, 80, who said: “We’ve known each other a long time. She was 17, I was 40.”
Biden regularly introduces himself as Jill's husband
Reuters
The comment received a smattering of laughter from the audience, as many tried to work out whether the joke was about underage relations, a self-deprecating jab at his own age, or both.
It seems Biden’s quip was passing himself off as younger than he actually is, for Biden would have been 50 when Longoria was 17.
The commander-in-chief had opened his speech on more tried and tested territory, introducing himself as “Jill Biden’s husband.”
Emboldened by the reception, Biden went off script, responding to an audience member’s shout of “I love you” with the slightly muddled retort of “I accept!”
In honour of America’s best-loved snack, the White House was lit up with orange and red, while Longeria marked the occasion by dressing as a giant Cheetos.
Montãnez, who worked for Frito-Lay - the PepsiCo subsidiary that creates Cheetos - remains ardent that he took home a batch of unflavoured puffs and added what is now the signature Cheetos seasoning.
However, Frito-Lay told the Los Angeles Times: “None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin' Hot test market.”
Despite this, Longoria said: “Richard Montañez disrupted the food industry in the ‘90s by channelling his Mexican American heritage to help turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a multibillion-dollar brand today and a cultural phenomenon.
The White House was lit up orange in honour of Cheetos
PA
It is unclear when the pair first met or what actually occurred when they met
Reuters
“We are telling a story that celebrates the American entrepreneurial dream without sidestepping the fact that the dream isn’t available in the same way for everyone.”
She added: “We never set out to tell the history of the Cheeto. We are telling Richard Montañez's' and we're telling his truth."
Longoria has had a long-standing involvement with the Democrat party, campaigning openly for Biden in 2020 and assuming the role of national co-chair for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012.
Speaking on the film, Biden later said: “Opportunity is a cornerstone of our democracy and the American dream, and as you’ll see in the film, that’s exactly what the Hispanic community embodies: opportunity, courage.
“When I think about tonight’s movie, I think about courage. So many of you, your ancestors left behind all that they knew to start a new life in the United States.”
In April, Biden confirmed that he would be running for re-election in 2024.