Republican firebrand Lauren Boebert has come under fire from her own party after she and her date were caught on video fondling each other in a crowded theater last weekend before being kicked out.
Footage captured the Colorado congresswoman’s heavy petting with her rumoured boyfriend as they attend a showing of “Beetlejuice” in Denver on 10 September. The pair were ejected for “causing a disturbance”.
Several within her own party criticised the lawmaker’s behaviour as hypocritical, given her opposition to LGBTQ+ rights, like furthering claims that drag performances will expose children to lewd sexual acts. She wrote last June, “Take your children to CHURCH, not drag bars.”
“She lectures everyone about the LGBT community being a threat to children while getting caught performing a lewd sex act in a public theatre where children possibly were,” Meghan McCain wrote on X. “This is ‘family values’? This is why people think the GOP are all hypocrites.”
Ann Coulter reacted to the footage, writing: “Totally embarrassing bimbo.” She added, “Can’t Colorado find SOME Republican not trashy and stupid to represent them in the 3rd congressional district?”
Former Virginia representative Denver Riggleman wrote sarcastically, “Lauren Boebert seems a bit confused about Freedom Caucus members telling her to ‘reach across the aisle.’”
Conservative talk show host Erick Erickson also chimed in: “Excuse it all you want—she behaved badly, denied it till exposure, and there’s no excuse except tribally.”
Ms Boebert had previously denied that the incident ever took place until the footage was released, which also captured the congresswoman vaping, singing, and taking flash photos during the show.
She took to social media to issue an apology: “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. 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.”
Ms Boebert continued, “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. 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.”
The lawmaker filed for divorce from her husband of 18 years, Jayson Boebert, and in June she announced that she became a grandmother at the age of 36 after her 17-year-old son had a child with his girlfriend.
She reiterated her message on OAN on Sunday: “I was a little too eccentric. I’m very known for having an animated personality.”
She said she was laughing, singing and “having a fantastic time” at the show. “I’m on the edge of a lot of things,” the Colorado Republican said.
