Boebert Grilled By Reporter Over 'Beetlejuice' Moment
By Bo Beard | June 5, 2024
Inappropriately touching
Rep. Lauren Boebert faced backlash after being caught inappropriately touching her date during a performance of a Beetlejuice musical in Denver last year.
Republican debate
The incident resurfaced during a televised Republican debate in Colorado, leading to negative consequences for Boebert, linking her behavior to the iconic character.
National prominence
Currently seeking her party's nomination in Colorado's 4th district, a conservative rural area, Boebert's national prominence has boosted her campaign financially.
Vaping habits
However, it also singled her out on stage, where she was the sole candidate questioned about her vaping habits and enthusiasm for belting out tunes in dimly lit theaters.
The theater thing
During the debate, Kyle Clark from Channel 9 directed a question to Boebert following a mention of the incident by one of her fellow candidates, “Do you want to talk about the theater thing?”
Owned up
“Uh, sure,” Boebert said. “So, Kyle, I—I certainly have owned out, uh, I owned up to my night out in Denver.”
Laughing and singing
Following her removal from the theater in September, Boebert simply pleaded “guilty to laughing and singing too loud.”
Surveillance footage
When Channel 9, a Denver-based station, acquired and released surveillance footage capturing the entirety of her disruptive actions did she finally “owned up” and took responsibility for her behavior.
Public apology
“Um,” Boebert continued at the debate, “and you know I—I’ve gone on that public apology tour and I’m grateful for the mercy and grace that has been shown. But I’m—I’m not going to continue to live life in shame and, um, be beat up by this. And, you know, I would like to go back to my record.”
Apologize
“I just want to make sure. Did you apologize for the behavior that went on with you and your date?” the reporter asked.
Lying to voters
“Or—pardon me—or did you apologize for lying to voters about what you did that night and the disrespect you showed to service workers that night? What specifically were you apologizing for?”
Out of context
Boebert claimed that the situation had been “absolutely taken out of context,” and vehemently denying that she had “flipped someone off” as captured on the surveillance video of her being removed from the theater.
Mischaracterized
“I think it has been very mischaracterized,” she said. “Um, I’m—I’m apologizing for you, Kyle Clark, for getting video and releasing that and people seeing it in a very private moment.”
