In the news
■ Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado apologized last week after she was kicked out of a Denver performance of the musical Beetlejuice, and surveillance footage showed her vaping and fondling her date’s groin. The far-right firebrand, 36, can be seen rubbing the crotch of Aspen bar owner Quinn Gallagher, who groped her breasts. Boebert was booted midshow for taking flash photos, singing loudly, and vaping. A pregnant woman nearby said she complained about the ecigarette usage, and Boebert called her “a sad and miserable person.” Boebert gave ushers the middle finger while leaving and shouted, “Do you know who I am?” A Christian conservative who has attacked drag shows for exposing kids to “obscene content,” Boebert blamed her theater antics on her recent divorce. “I’ve tried to handle it with strength and grace as best I can,” she said, “but I simply fell short of my values.”
■ South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski have been carrying on an obvious affair since at least 2019, when Lewandowski became her adviser, the Daily Mail (U.K.) and New York Post report. Sources claimed to have witnessed Noem sitting on Lewandowski’s lap at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in 2020 and making out with him at an Orlando hotel bar in 2021, saying their displays of affection were “absurdly blatant.” Neither immediately denied the reporting, but a Noem spokesperson called it an “attack” in response to her recent endorsement of Trump’s presidential bid. Considered a contender to be Trump’s running mate, Noem, 51, has three children with her husband, who reportedly has moved out of the governor’s mansion. Lewandowski, 50, has four kids with his wife of 18 years, but he’s been accused of affairs and sexually harassing women in recent years, which led to him being exiled from Trump’s inner circle.
■ Australian actors Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness are divorcing after a 27-year “wonderful, loving marriage,” they said last week. The couple said they “decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.” Jackman, 54, and Furness, 67, have been the subject of gossip over their age gap, which Furness addressed in 2014, calling it a “putdown” to say she’s “lucky” to be with a younger, buff heartthrob.