Lauren Boebert issues new apology for theatre groping incident: ‘I was a little too eccentric’

Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert has issued a new apology after she was removed from a theatre for vaping, disturbing other patrons and groping her date’s crotch. 

The right-wing politician, who has accused the LGBTQ+ community of sexualising children and spaces, was kicked out of a performance of family-friendly musical Beetlejuice at the Buell Theater in Denver on 10 September. 

CCTV footage taken inside the theatre’s auditorium shows the Colorado representative and her male companion fondling each other, taking photographs with the flash on and vaping during the performance.

The pair were kicked out of the theatre by security, but not before Boebert appeared to throw what looks like the middle finger at security staff.  

In an interview on Sunday (17 September) with One America News Network, a conservative outlet, Boebert said she acted “maybe overtly animated”. 

“I was laughing, I was singing, having a fantastic time, was told to kinda settle it down a little bit, which I did, but then, my next slip up was taking a picture,” she continued, “I was a little too eccentric … I’m on the edge of a lot of things.”

On Friday (15 September) in a Facebook statement, Boebert wrote that the incident and ensuing backlash had been “difficult and humbling” and she is “truly sorry for the unwanted attention my Sunday evening in Denver has brought to the community”. 

“While none of my actions or words as a private citizen that night were intended to be malicious or meant to cause harm, the reality is they did and I regret that,” she wrote. 

Boebert went on to cite her divorce from husband of 16 years Jayson Boebert as a “challenging personal time for me and my entire family” which she has “tried to handle […] with strength and grace” but “fell short of my values on Sunday”. 

She added: “That’s unacceptable and I’m sorry.”

“Whether it was the excitement of seeing a much-anticipated production or the natural anxiety of being in a new environment, I genuinely did not recall vaping that evening when I discussed the night’s events with my campaign team while confirming my enthusiasm for the musical,” the statement reads.

“Regardless of my belief, it’s clear now that was not accurate; it was not my or my campaign’s intention to mislead, but we do understand the nature of how this looks. 

“We know we will have to work to earn your trust back and it may not happen overnight, but we will do it.”

Prior to the first comment on her behaviour, on Wednesday (13 September) she did not appear apologetic and wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the incident: “It’s true, I did thoroughly enjoy the AMAZING Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre and I plead guilty to laughing and singing too loud!

“Everyone should go see it if you get the chance this week and please let me know how it ends!”

Boebert – who has made a name for herself as a pro-gun, anti-LGBTQ+ Christian-nationalist – attended the show with Quinn Gallagher, a Democrat who owns Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar in Aspen, Colorado. 

The bar appears to be openly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and has previously hosted the drag shows Boebert claims to hate so deeply. 

Infamously, Boebert posted in June 2022: “Take your children to CHURCH, not drag bars.”

Boebert and Gallagher have reportedly been dating for months, raising some eyebrows given their odd match. 

“I always thought Quinn was a cool guy and a Democrat. His parents would be horrified because they are definitely blue,” one source told The Daily Mail. 

In response to the incident, politicians and political commentators alike have weighed in on Boebert’s actions. 

Independent journalist Erin Reed called out the Republican’s conduct as hypocritical. 

“Imagine for one moment a trans person was caught doing this,” she wrote, “The news stories. The bills. The media circus.”

Sharing a video of Boebert, creator of the SHERO Newsletter and attorney Amee Vanderpool wrote: “Here is Rep. Lauren Boebert on the House floor speaking about banning YA books that display ‘offensive and very inappropriate’ themes and here she is at the Denver theatre last Sunday where she and her date were caught on camera groping each other publicly.”