Boebert denied vaping before 'Beetlejuice' ejection, but the video shows otherwise

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said she was asked to leave for having too much fun, not breaking the rules. Roll the tape!

Lauren Boebert vaping in a theater
Lauren Boebert vapes inside Denver theater
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/9News)

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was escorted from a Denver theater during a Sunday night performance of the musical "Beetlejuice," her campaign confirmed Tuesday after The Denver Post reported the incident. A security report from the city-owned Buell Theatre said two unidentified patrons were ejected for "vaping, singing, causing a disturbance" and recording parts of the show, the Post and The Colorado Sun reported. 

Boebert, through campaign spokesman Drew Sexton, denied vaping or causing any undue disturbance. Boebert said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she pleaded "guilty to laughing and singing too loud!" Sexton said Boebert, "to the dismay of a select few, enthusiastically enjoyed" the performance, but the accusations of vaping might have been "a misunderstanding from someone sitting near her," confused by heavy fog machines and electronic cigarettes used in the performance. 

Surveillance video from the theater shows that Boebert was indeed vaping, as well as taking flash photography and causing other disturbances, Next 9News host Kyle Clark reported Thursday night.

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The woman sitting behind Boebert, a pregnant woman in her 30s, told the Post that when she asked the congresswoman to stop vaping, she said "no." Boebert was also making out with her male companion and singing loudly, the woman said. "These people in front of us were outrageous. I've never seen anyone act like that before."

After intermission, Boebert called the woman a "sad and miserable person," she told the Post. “The guy she was with offered to buy me and my husband cocktails. I'm pregnant!"

The surveillance video also showed Boebert flipping off theater staff when leaving the theater. According to the incident report, Boebert and her companion said "stuff like 'do you know who I am,' 'I am on the board,' (and) 'I will be contacting the mayor,'" as they were being escorted from the premises.

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Peter Weber

Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.