Eva Longoria was set to have a great evening at the White House, having been invited by President Joe Biden to screen her recent directorial effort Flamin’ Hot, which hit theaters on June 9, 2023. Today, a viral video is taking all the attention away from the special occasion.
Longoria’s movie celebrates the Hispanic culture’s contribution to America. Flamin’ Hot is about a janitor who works for Frito-Lay and comes up with a new flavor in order to save the company as it struggles through financial difficulties. His “Flamin’ Hot” flavored Cheetos were invented to appeal to the Latino market. According to ScreenRant, the movie’s subject, Richard Montanez, is a multi-millionaire who currently sits atop the Multicultural Sales and Marketing department at PepsiCo.
Instead of the movie being the focus of the day, Longoria woke up to see that a viral video was going wild with claims of Joe Biden groping her. What a sting to the momentum the event could have given her film. In the video, there is a hug. Longoria grabs his hands as she moves away and holds them to celebrate with the crowd. That’s all there really is to it. So, has Longoria responded to any accusations concerning the president?
Despite the many calls from women who saw the action as something more than a hug, Eva has only thanked the POTUS and FLOTUS for hosting the screening. With a long record of being outspoken, she has been vocal about sexual misconduct and how women need to stand together to fight back against abusive or harassing treatment.
Her lack of a statement here might say something about what actually happened. If she felt she was groped, she likely would have spoken up by now. Millions of people may act as judge, jury, and executioner in the court of public opinion, but Longoria hasn’t indicated that she has concerns about the interaction.
What is unfortunate is exactly what Eva Longoria talked about at the screening. According to AP, she said, “Montañez’ story inspired her because she has been told ‘no’ during her career, that ideas don’t come from people like her, that she couldn’t do certain jobs because she is a woman.”
She’s dealt with being held back before, and some see this as another example of that trend. The momentum of a great evening has been disrupted by the budding rumoring scandal.