Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, May 19 (IANS) Wannabe reality TV star couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, who infamously crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, say it’s high time for an apology - from the White House.

The Salahis Tuesday said they’ve been the target of pranks and death threats following the security scandal, in which the pair was admitted to the November event without an invitation and even managed to shake hands with Obama and Manmohan Singh.

“It would be nice if somebody apologised to us and for (the White House) to call it quits,” Tareq Salahi told Radar Online. “I would certainly not treat anyone this way that comes to my house, even if there was a question about an invitation, or there was some miscommunication … I would still welcome anyone and be gracious.”

“The American way is to love people,” added Michaele.

The congressional investigation into the party crashing, which cost White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers her job, brought the couple a firestorm of negative attention, Tareq said. In one incident, Michaele received a package at their Virginia home containing a used condom.

“It is a totally different life now and is really impossible to describe,” Tareq Salahi told Radar.

While Obama has said the Salahis “should not have gotten through the gate”, the pair maintains they were extended an invite to the dinner.

“Without a doubt, there is no question that we were extended an invitation,” Tareq told Radar. “Nobody realised this but we were asked for our social security number, our date of birth, our full legal name and our citizenship for clearance for the White House state dinner.

“Not for a breakfast. Not for a VIP tour. Not for a luncheon. Specifically, in writing, for the White House state dinner evening activities.

“Nobody knows that and nobody has bothered to ask us about that, except for the Secret Service investigation.”

The Salahis also confirmed that they are taking part in the upcoming Bravo reality show “Real Housewives of D.C.”, but said the state dinner stunt wasn’t an audition. They had already been cast at the time of the incident, and filming had been underway for some time, they told Radar.

Meanwhile, White House officials are hoping that Obama’s second state dinner at the White House Wednesday night for Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderón, will not be as eventful as the one for Manmohan Singh.

Like the dinner for the Indian prime minister, the White House will rely on a celebrity guest chef and feature a menu inspired by the cuisine of the guest of honour’s home.

But a new social secretary is taking charge of the event, and administration officials fervently hope that fail-safe and embarrassment-free security procedures will be in force.