Representative Lauren Boebert lied about how long she was involved with Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar co-owner Quinn Gallagher, according to a statement from a drag queen who performed at the Aspen, Colorado, bar.
Boebert and Gallagher were escorted out of a performance of Beetlejuice: The Musical at the Buell Theater in Denver on September 10 after disturbing other patrons with actions that included vaping, being loud and groping one another.
The pairing was at least somewhat surprising. Gallagher has hosted drag queens at the bar and conducted pro-LGBQT+ events there. Boebert, a Republican, has been an outspoken critic of drag, claiming it offends her Christian beliefs. In a post to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Boebert wrote in June 2022: "Take your children to Church, not drag bars."
Boebert, who later apologized for the incident, said she and Gallagher were on a first date, months after she filed for divorce from husband Jason Boebert. But Kendra Matic refuted the claim in an interview with TMZ. Matic is a drag queen who has performed at Hooch Craft Cocktail Bar.
Matic complimented Gallagher's behavior and said that he was "an amazing guy" that treated her "very, very kind, very good" and offered for Matic to return to the bar in the future.
Matic had a less favorable view of Boebert and said that "the stuff she said before, it's horrible of course as always," while adding that Boebert had been dating Gallagher for months.
Newsweek reached out to Boebert's press office by email for comment.
Matic made a reference to the pair's disruptive behavior at the theater during her interview with TMZ as an example of why it wasn't Boebert's first date with Gallagher.
"First date and someone is touching your boobies like that?" Matic said while shaking her finger when the interview said there was speculation that the event was a first date. "I know that they were dating for a while. For months."
Earlier in the interview, Matic said she didn't approve of the relationship.
"I don't like this girl," she said of Boebert. "I don't understand why she has that hate speech all the time. We don't do anything wrong. I don't harm anyone. Who cares what I do in my bed or if I'm gay or not? I don't know why people care so much about what you do in your bed. At least I do that in my bed and not in a theater."
TMZ reported this week that Boebert said all future dates between her and Gallagher had been canceled.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
