Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert issued an apology Friday night, following media coverage of her behavior at a performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical last weekend.
“The past few days have been difficult and humbling, and I’m truly sorry for the unwanted attention my Sunday evening in Denver has brought to the community,” Boebert said in a Friday night statement.
The Republican congressperson and her companion were reportedly talking loudly, vaping and using cameras during the performance before being asked to leave, refusing, then being escorted out. When asked by a nearby attendee who was pregnant to stop vaping, she told the woman no, according to the Denver Post.
In her statement, she went on to say that her actions and words weren’t “intended to be malicious or meant to cause harm,” but that “the reality is they did and I regret that.”
Boebert went on to cite her recent split with her husband, Jayson. She filed for divorce, but it has yet to be finalized.
“There’s no perfect blueprint for going through a public and difficult divorce, which over the past few months has made for a challenging personal time for me and my entire family,” Boebert siad. “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.”
Local NBC affiliate 9News was first to obtain footage of Boebert and an apparent date at the musical.
“Don’t know how many voters base their decisions on theater etiquette, but it also appears that the Republican congresswoman and her team were not honest about what happened,” 9News’ Kyle Clark said while discussing Boebert’s behavior.
Clark also quipped about Boebert and her male companion engaging in apparent clothed physical intimacy, saying that “Boebert occasionally took a break from being disruptive to enjoy the company of her male companion. He briefly had a grasp on the situation before ushers returned.”
In her statement, Boebert tried to explain the reasons her earlier denial didn’t match up with what actually happened at the “Beetlejuice” performance.
“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,” Boebert said in the statement. “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.”
NBC’s Sahil Kapur noted that the tone of the statement didn’t match the way that Boebert normally speaks.
“This is a crisis PR tone,” Kapur wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “The apology is also out of character, even when caught in a lie. Perhaps a signal that she recognizes re-election is no sure thing, even in her GOP-friendly district. She won by 546 votes in ’22.”
Earlier in the week, Boebert had joked about her behavior and tweeted, “I plead guilt to laughing and singing too loud,” followed by a heart recommendation for the show.
Boebert is also one of the members of Congress threatening a shutdown of the federal government over the budget, as well as supporting a potential impeachment of President Joe Biden.
You can watch 9News’ Kyle Clark discussing Boebert behavior in the video above and see the full surveillance video obtained by 9News below:
