![]() But production forged ahead with director Eva Longoria, who told People that her directorial debut was “never telling the history of the Cheeto.” It is “Richard Montañez’s story, told from his point of view,” Frito-Lay said in a statement to People. That’s also been the sentiment of the film’s screenwriters, Lewis Colick-who maintained that Montañez “should remain the face of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos”-and Linda Yvette Chávez, who said, “You just know what is true in your gut, and Richard’s story…I know that story in my heart.” Producers of Montañez’s biopic, first announced in 2018 and adapted from his 2013 memoir, A Boy, a Burrito, and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive, were alerted by Frito-Lay of the controversy in 2019, according to the LA Times. All I have is my history, what I did in my kitchen.” Montañez further claimed that he was “pushed out” of the test-marketing process and said Frito-Lay lacked documentation on his contribution because he “wasn’t a supervisor,” adding, “I was the least of the least.” “I’m not even going to try to dispute that lady, because I don’t know,” he said of Greenfeld. While Montañez did not comment for the Times article, he spoke to Variety about its findings. As Montañez told CBS, “ would even tell me, ‘Richard, in your speeches you need to say it was a team effort.’ But in reality it never was.” “I said this is a fun story this shouldn’t be a controversial story your inclination to dramatize the story a little bit, you’ve got to keep away from that,” he told the outlet. ![]() “I’ll bet Richard’s added a little flavor to it.”Ĭarey also said he attempted to curb Montañez’s tendency toward theatrics. “Of course stories grow, and the longer we get away from the date the stories evolve,” Carey told the Times. ![]() Although recollections of why and when they met differ (Montañez writes in his second memoir that it was the late 1980s Carey told the Times it was December 1992 and under completely different circumstances), Carey is one of the only prominent Frito-Lay execs to endorse Montañez’s narrative. Montañez himself retired in March 2019 after Frito-Lay’s investigation, as did his corporate confidant Al Carey. The fable was allowed to flourish in part because “most of the original Flamin’ Hot team had retired by the 2000s,” according to the Times. That doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Richard, but the facts do not support the urban legend.” After publication, parent company PepsiCo would tell Variety in a statement that what’s “far from being an urban legend” is Montañez’s “remarkable 40-plus-year career at PepsiCo.” While the company might not have been able to “draw a clear link between” Montañez and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, it does “attribute the launch and success of” the product “to several people…including Montañez.” The company added, “None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin’ Hot test market…. “We value Richard’s many contributions to our company, especially his insights into Hispanic consumers, but we do not credit the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or any Flamin’ Hot products to him,” Frito-Lay wrote in a statement to the Times. He was also involved in a Sabrositas (a subsidiary of Frito-Lay) line that included Flamin’ Hot Popcorn, two types of Fritos-Flamin’ Hot and Lime and Chile Corn Chips-and a Doritos version branded as buñuelito-style tortilla chips, according to the Times. It is true, according to a US News and World Report article from December 1993 cited by the Times, that Montañez may have had a direct hand in the creation of Flamin’ Hot Popcorn, which debuted in stores four years after Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
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