Richard Montañez, the topic of Eva Longoria‘s upcoming biopic, is dealing with accusations that he made his story of developing Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
In a brand-new Los Angeles Times examination, reporter Sam Dena spoke with a lots previous Frito-Lay workers who declare Richard was not associated with the development of the business’s popular treat.
“None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin’ Hot test market,” Frito-Lay stated in a declaration to the Times. “We have interviewed multiple personnel who were involved in the test market, and all of them indicate that Richard was not involved in any capacity in the test market.”
“That doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Richard,” the declaration continued, “but the facts do not support the urban legend.”
However in a different declaration shown E! News, Frito-Lay shared in part, “He did important work launching our Hispanic Business Unit and played a key role in accelerating the growth of our Flamin’ Hot Brand and other brands particularly through his Hispanic marketing efforts—efforts that helped grow our business and support our communities, especially in Los Angeles.”
For years, Richard declared to have actually pitched his concept to executives when he was a janitor in a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Frito-Lay plant. His account led to a narrative set to be launched in June entitled Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive.
