--- description: U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke apologized for his "demeaning" comments about women in a 1991 review he wrote for his college newspaper. title: Beto O'Rourke Apologizes For 'Demeaning Comments About Women' in 1991 Musical Review image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8641af5b7c599d5e/69893b9922fb85b094e26cc3/beto-orourke.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2018 Midterm Elections](/tag/2018-midterm-elections/) ## 2018 Midterm Elections Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Beto O'Rourke Apologizes for 'Demeaning Comments About Women' in 1991 Musical Review by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2018 1:05 PM CUT  Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) makes a point in a debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU on September 21, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) makes a point in a debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU on September 21, 2018 in Dallas, Texas.Getty Images by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2018 1:05 PM CUT U.S. Senate candidate [Beto O’Rourke](http://time.com/longform/beto-orourke-texas-democratic-senate-race/ "undefined") apologized for “disrespectful and demeaning comments about women” he made in a 1991 musical theater review published in his college newspaper that resurfaced Monday. “I am ashamed of what I wrote and I apologize,” the Texas Democrat said in a statement, [according to Politico](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/01/beto-orourke-musical-review-855385 "undefined"). “There is no excuse for making disrespectful and demeaning comments about women.” The apology came after Politico resurfaced O’Rourke’s 1991 review of “The Will Rogers Follies” in the Columbia University student newspaper, [the Columbia _Daily Spectator_](http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19911010-01.2.35&srpos=3& "undefined"). (Politico reported that it received a tip about the newspaper column by “a person who opposes O’Rourke’s Senate campaign” against Sen. Ted Cruz.) As a 19-year-old college student in 1991, O’Rourke called the musical “one of the most glaring examples of the sickening excesses and moral degradations of our culture” and wrote the show’s actresses’ “only qualifications seem to be their phenomenally large breasts and tight buttocks.” At the end of the review, O’Rourke said he “was the youngest person in the crowd by about 60 years.” “Though I found it revolting,” he wrote, “most people from that long-ago, faraway generation really enjoyed the show, and were very pleased with the performances.” As a Democratic challenger, O’Rourke has come within single digits in the polls against Cruz, who is running for reelection. Throughout his campaign, O’Rourke [has addressed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/beto-orourke-dwi-episode-in-1998-included-car-crash-and-alleged-attempt-to-flee/2018/08/31/6fff5bb8-ad3a-11e8-8a0c-70b618c98d3c%5Fstory.html?noredirect=on&utm%5Fterm=.daf4e1e585df "undefined") his 1998 drunken driving arrest — “a serious mistake” he has “publicly discussed over the last 20 years,” he says. And the Texas Republican Party [shared old photos](http://time.com/5381919/beto-orourke-punk-rock/ "undefined") of the Democrat on Twitter, but fans of O’Rourke’s found humor in the photo dump. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/"},"headline":"Beto O'Rourke Apologizes for 'Demeaning Comments About Women' in 1991 Musical Review","datePublished":"2018-10-02T13:05:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:36:27.766Z","description":"A review from his college paper resurfaced this week","url":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/","keywords":["2018 Midterm Elections","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8641af5b7c599d5e/69893b9922fb85b094e26cc3/beto-orourke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8641af5b7c599d5e/69893b9922fb85b094e26cc3/beto-orourke.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Texas Senate Candidates Ted Cruz And Beto O'Rourke Debate In Dallas","caption":"Texas Senate Candidates Ted Cruz And Beto O'Rourke Debate In Dallas","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-midterm-elections/","name":"2018 Midterm Elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/","name":"Beto O'Rourke Apologizes for 'Demeaning Comments About Women' in 1991 Musical Review"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Showing Up Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Ad","description":"Showing Up Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Ad","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HO05EkAJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-09-01T18:40:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HO05EkAJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5412407/beto-orourke-musical-review-apology/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```