With my love for the chip, I, like many others, sat down to watch Flamin’ Hot, the new film directed by fellow Mexican-American Eva Longoria about the story of Richard Montañez, the Frito-Lay janitor who was long credited with inventing Hot Cheetos, after it began streaming on Hulu on June 9. Not only was it an inspiring, rags-to-riches story, it felt authentic to us. The problem? It may actually not be a true story. A 2018 Los Angeles Times investigation found that many of Montañez’s claims were either embellished or entirely fabricated; in 2021, Montañez said that all he could vouch for was what he created in his kitchen, which wasn’t the famous Hot Cheeto recipe. Even more, the film feels like a celebration of capitalism, a system that has harmed many Latine workers much like Montañez.