Michelle Obama Invited Miami Vine Star Lele Pons to the White House, Then Photobombed Her

Lele Pons is probably the most famous Miamian right now that no one over 21 has heard of. She's one of the most popular personalities on the Vine social network and came in at number six on our list of most followed Miami Instagram accounts, ahead of bonafide celebs such as Pitbull and Chris Bosh. 

Well, actually, we shouldn't say no one over 21 knows who she is. First Lady Michelle Obama knows who she is and invited her to the White House this week. The FLOTUS then proceeded to photobomb Pons' Vine selfie. 

Pons, who is 18 years old, gained fame on Vine for her outrageous and spontaneous stunts that included acting like a fool in local CVS stores, but her fame has grown and her six-second comedy videos have since been traded for more scripted fair. Her Vines have been looped more than 7 billion times, the most of anyone on the app. She's also the most followed woman on the app. (The title of most followed Viner goes to embattled Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier's younger digital teen idol brother, Nash.)

The Obamas are, of course, always up on the latest social media trends, at least for a couple in their 50s who happen to be world leaders. Mrs. Obama decided to invite a group of the biggest Viners to the White House Monday to celebrate the launch of her BetterMakeRoom.org website. The site is aimed at helping 14- to 18-year-olds prepare for college, so clearly inviting social media celebs with huge followings among that age group is a savvy marketing move. 

Pons pulled the ultimate social media get by having the First Lady appear in one of her Vines.


It's quite an evolution for a girl who once filmed herself slapping a living-statue performer on Lincoln Road. (Whether Pons' early Vines were staged is still a point of contention.)

Among the other Vine guests at the function were Andrew Bachelor (AKA KingBach), Us the Duo, Chris Melberger, Amymarie Gaertner, and Jérôme Jarre.

Again, if you're over 21, you probably have no idea who any of these people are, perhaps with the exception of Jarre. Last year, he was detained on a Miami-bound flight for getting up in the middle of it and filming himself walking down the aisle in a Speedo and a duck-shaped inflatable tube. He was later questioned at Miami International Airport before being released.

Pons was born in Venezuela but moved to Miami when she was 5 with her family. She's since gone on to win a Teen Choice Award for "Choice Viner," and I'm sure all this information might make you feel very old and out of the loop if you're of legal drinking age. But don't worry — you already knew you were less cool than Michelle Obama. Or, if you want, you can always catch up with ten minutes straight of Pons' six-second video sketches.