The Roots co-founder and Grammy Award-winning musician Questlove confusing former president Barack Obama for a Postmates delivery service person may make for one of the wildest stories to hit the internet this week.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published earlier this week, Questlove, whose real name is Ahmir Thompson, said the incident happened shortly after his Oscar-nominated documentary “Summer of Soul (… or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” was honored at the Sundance film festival last year.
“The phone rings, and I’m wondering where my Postmates guy is with my food,” the Academy Award-nominated star explained. “So [the caller] is like, ‘Hello?’ And I was like, ‘Yo, come [to this] floor, I’ve been waiting for you.’ He’s like, ‘Huh? Wait.’ I said, ‘Postmates?’ ‘This is Barry. Wait, do you think I’m your Postmates?’ And I was like, ‘Huh?’ “
The Philly native said while waiting for his food to be delivered, he missed a text alerting him that he’d soon be receiving a call from the nation’s former leader calling to congratulate him. “I looked on my phone, and there’s all these [texts saying], ‘The president’s going to call.’ I totally missed that. I had a belly laugh,” the 51-year-old continued.
Last year, Questlove’s documentary made it onto Obama’s annual list of “favorite” movies, music and books. “Since these are works I have actually listened to, watched, or read, I’m sure I’ve missed some worthy stuff,” the politician wrote at the time. “So if you have your own recommendations to share, I’ll add them to the stack of books and movies I hope to catch up on over the holidays,” he added.
In another post, Obama noted that “Each of these films tells a powerful story,” before listing several critically acclaimed projects, including Shaka Kings’ “Judas and The Black Messiah,” featuring Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield and Joel Coen’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” starring 10-time Oscar-nominated actor Denzel Washington alongside fellow Academy Award winner Frances McDormand.
“Summer of Soul (… or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s ceremony airing on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 8 p.m. EDT from the Dolby Theatre on ABC.
