A man arrested for allegedly pepper-spraying a cellphone user at a movie theater has emerged as a controversial figure among moviegoers, with some branding him a “hero” and others condemning the act.Police in Burbank, California, arrested 34-year-old Matthew Ware on Tuesday evening after he allegedly attacked another moviegoer for using their phone during a screening.Ware was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery after allegedly spraying the AMC Burbank 16 patron when he became upset over their in-theater etiquette, Burbank Police Department Lt.Brent Fekety said.
The spray affected two other moviegoers, who were treated for their irritation at a local hospital, according to Fekety.Ware did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.It is unclear whether he has legal representation.Online, the incident has become another flashpoint in the ongoing debate among die-hard moviegoers, for whom putting away a phone is a basic rule of theater etiquette.Phone use in theaters has been a growing issue since pandemic restrictions were lifted.
In recent years, as the box office rebounded into a Gen Z-driven boom, many moviegoers have lamented that the experience is now often tainted by fellow patrons’ full-volume conversations and persistent phone use.In February, Alamo Drafthouse, an Austin, Texas-based chain that built its identity in part on a strict no-phones policy, began requiring patrons to use their smartphones to order food and drinks during screenings.The policy reversal drew swift backlash from moviegoers, who saw it as at odds with the chain’s long-standing ethos.Last week’s pepper spray incident became social media fodder after Joe Rodriguez, who witnessed the incident, shared a post to a Reddit forum for people in the AMC A-list Stubs loyalty program.Rodriguez’s photos of Ware being handcuffed by police inside the theater recirculated on X and Instagram.
His Reddit post about what he witnessed generated so much discussion that a...