Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) apologized for vaping and being disruptive during a performance of the musical “Beetlejuice” at a city-owned theater in Denver, in a statement released by her campaign team late Friday.
Boebert expressed regret and said she was “truly sorry” for her actions at the theater, from where she and an unidentified man were ejected Sunday. The pair had been reprimanded multiple times by staff for “vaping, singing, [and] causing a disturbance” to other patrons, before being kicked out, according to an incident report shared by the city.
As Boebert and her male companion are escorted out of the theater, camera footage shows her rebuking a staff member and saying, “Do you know who I am?” and “I will be contacting the mayor,” according to the city’s incident report.
“The past few days have been difficult and humbling, and I’m truly sorry,” Boebert said in the statement. “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.”
Boebert and her campaign had initially disputed notions that she had been disruptive to other theatergoers that night. Drew Sexton, the congresswoman’s campaign manager, had earlier denied accusations Boebert had been vaping, saying heavy fog machines and electronic cigarettes were being used during the show, and there might have been a misunderstanding.
In a social media post this week, Boebert said that she had “thoroughly” enjoyed the musical and that she pleaded “guilty to laughing and singing too loud!”
In her statement Friday, she acknowledged she had been vaping, although she said she “genuinely did not recall vaping that evening” when she had first discussed that night’s events with her campaign team. “Regardless of my belief, it’s clear now that was not accurate.”
Boebert said in May she is filing for divorce, and she appeared to blame the stress from that as a reason for her actions.
“There’s no perfect blueprint for going through a public and difficult divorce,” she said. “I’ve tried to handle it with strength and grace as best I can, but I simply fell short of my values on Sunday. That’s unacceptable and I’m sorry.”
Boebert, who represents a rural and conservative part of Colorado, faces reelection next year, when she is expected to run against Democrat Adam Frisch, whom she defeated last year by 546 votes in a close race that required a recount.