The Boebert Beetlejuice controversy just keeps growing

Over the past week, the internet has been living for the schadenfreude high in US Rep Lauren Boebert’s recent scandal. For some, the Beetlejuice controversy (just typing those words feels insane) represents another moment of political hypocrisy and double standards. For others, it was the ultimate cockblock Boebert’s love life.

The now infamous Beetlejuice controversy involved Boebert being kicked out of a theater performance of the Beetlejuice musical for lewd and disruptive behavior—that is, vaping, singing along, and feeling up her date. As she was kicked out, she was heard shouting at staff, “Do you know who I am?”

In addition to fearmongering throughout her career, the right wing congresswoman has been a leading voice in turning the word “groomer” into a slur against LGBTQ+ people. So when Boebert was caught on film fondling her date’s crouch at a kid-friendly public event, the internet was quick to point out that the call was coming from inside the house.

The Daily Mail later identified her date as a man named Quinn Gallagher, a registered Democrat and a business owner whose bar had hosted drag shows in the past. Although the tabloid reported the pair had been dating for months, Boebert joked in a conversation with TMZ, “I’ve learned to check party affiliations before you go on a date.”

Related:

The Lauren Boebert Beetlejuice memes are breathing sweet life into our stone cold corpses

Hi! I’ll be your guide!…out of the theater

Boebert also said that the intense media scrutiny had no bearing on her relationship with Gallagher, but she ended it all the same. “Honestly, he’s a private citizen and we have peacefully parted at this time,” she said. “Great man, great friend and I wish him all the best.”

Throughout the interview, Boebert managed to dodge the central issue of the controversy—the public lewdness in spite of her aggressive stance against so-called grooming. “There’s a lot of folks who are certainly understanding, and they understand that it was a part of my personal life, my private time, something that I rarely indulge in,” she said, ignoring the fact that the venue was public, not private.

It isn’t the first time Boebert has been in hot water for hypocritical actions. Boebert has defended her ex-husband after he pleaded guilty to exposing himself in a bowling alley. So while she will likely survive the scandal to remain an embarrassment in national politics, we can take some satisfaction at having poured cold water on the congresswoman’s attempts to get laid.