Lauren Boebert
Image Source: House Creative Services, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What Was the Accusation?
U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert faced criticism after she and a male companion were removed from a September 10, 2023 performance of the musical Beetlejuice at the Buell Theatre in Denver. According to theater officials and an incident report, patrons complained about behavior that included talking or singing loudly, vaping, using a phone or camera during the performance, and causing a disturbance. The pair received a warning during intermission, but theater staff subsequently asked them to leave. Surveillance footage showed Boebert being escorted from the theater and later provided additional evidence about her conduct inside the auditorium.
The controversy intensified because Boebert’s campaign initially denied that she had been vaping. Her campaign manager acknowledged that she had been using her phone and had been boisterous but disputed the vaping allegation. Surveillance footage obtained through an open-records request subsequently showed Boebert apparently exhaling vapor while seated in the theater. Additional footage showed intimate physical contact between Boebert and her companion. An incident report also stated that while being escorted from the venue, the patrons made comments including asking whether staff knew who they were and referring to contacting the mayor.
On September 15, Boebert issued a written apology. She acknowledged that her conduct had caused unwanted attention and said that although she had not intended to cause harm, she regretted the consequences of her actions. She said she had fallen short of her own values and referred to the difficulty of going through a public divorce. Boebert also addressed the earlier vaping denial, saying she genuinely had not remembered vaping when she discussed the incident with her campaign staff but conceded that the surveillance footage showed the denial was inaccurate. She said neither she nor her campaign had intended to mislead the public and promised to work to regain trust.
Key Apologia Strategies
Mortification, Defeasibility, Good Intentions, Corrective Action
Video
Transcript
Lauren Boebert’s initial tweet after being removed from the show:
