Comedian Elayne Boosler says she was arrested and held in handcuffs for two hours Sunday at Dodger Stadium after arguing with an employee who would not let her enter with a purse that violated the stadium’s clear bag policy.
In a 3 1/2-minute video posted to Boosler’s YouTube channel later that day, the 71-year-old said she eventually was allowed to leave on her own, without being sent “to jail downtown.”
But the “Party of One” star made it clear that she still has a beef with the Dodgers organization, in particular the employee who wouldn’t let her pass with a non-see-through bag that was decorated like a baseball.
“Shame on you, Dodger Stadium. Shame on you,” Boosler said. “You know me. I’ve done so much free work for you for decades. And even if I wasn’t me, if I was just a customer who was coming to the game, to be treated like that, for anyone to be treated like that is so awful. You need to talk to your personnel and you really need to get rid of that guy with the tiny, little bit of power who is definitely not a people person.”
On Instagram, Boosler wrote: “Shame on the Los Angeles Dodgers. After years of doing free work/events for them… Never again.”
The Times reached out to Boosler for further comment through her representative but did not receive a response. The Dodgers declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told The Times he was unable to confirm any of Boosler’s story but said there was no record of her being booked Sunday.
Boosler is known as a pioneer for women in the world of stand-up comedy, finding success in the 1970s and 1980s when the field was largely dominated by men. In 2018, she was included in CNN’s list of “Groundbreaking women in American comedy.” She has appeared in The Times as a contributor, writing appreciation pieces for late comedians Judy Tenuta in 2022 and Richard Lewis last month and an opinion piece on comic strips in 2003.
In her video, Boosler said she was set to attend the Dodgers game against the New York Mets that afternoon with her nephew and his 8-year-old child. “I was so excited to bring my new little baseball bag into the stadium, which is so adorable,” she said while holding the bag up for the camera.
“They said, ‘Nope, you have to bring it back to the car or throw it away,’” Boosler stated in the video. “And I said, ‘Wow, the car — let’s see, we paid $50 to park a mile away and it’s 80 degrees and the tickets were $300 in the secondary market. And nowhere did I see it say it has to be a clear bag. You should let me in.’”
After she was refused entry again, Boosler said, she continued to plead her case.
“I sung the anthem here five times,” Boosler said she told the employee. “I’ve been in the booth 50 times. I’ve done everything extra for Dodger Stadium a comedian can do. I, um, oh my goodness, I played in the Hollywood Stars game 10 times. Just let me in with the bag.”
Boosler said that the discussion “got heated” and she did drop “an F-bomb” but the conversation overall “was quiet.”
Her nephew and his child were allowed to enter, Boosler said, but she was told she would “be arrested for trespassing” if she didn’t leave.
“I said, ‘Fine. Arrest me.’” she said in the video. “So they did. They arrested me, they cuffed me behind my back, they put me in a black and white squad car.”
Boosler added: “I have to say the cops, man and woman, were very nice. Yes, I’m white, I know that, but they were nice. Anyway, got to the Dodger Stadium office — they had to press charges ‘cause the guy wouldn’t give up. And the people in the office were pretty nice actually, even though I was handcuffed behind my back and then handcuffed to a bench.”
After two hours, Boosler said, “Finally they said, ‘Well, if you agree to leave, you know, we don’t have to send you to jail downtown.’ And I said, ‘OK, I guess so.’ And so I did leave in a squad car to go call a car to come.”
