Man Allegedly Pepper Sprays Moviegoer Over Phone Use

The long-running fight over phone use in movie theaters just escalated into a criminal case, NBC News reports. Police in Burbank, California, say 34-year-old Matthew Ware was arrested last Tuesday night after he allegedly pepper-sprayed a fellow patron at AMC Burbank 16 who wouldn't put away a phone during a screening of The Uprising. The spray hit two others, who were treated at a hospital, according to police. Ware was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery; it's not clear if he has a lawyer, and he did not respond to a request for comment.

The incident exploded online after witness Joe Rodriguez posted photos and an account of what he saw to a Reddit forum for AMC's Stubs A-List members. Discussion got so heated the thread was locked. One typical take: "Not cool to pepper spray. Not cool to be on your phone during a movie. Both things true." Rodriguez says Ware told police the phone user "got smart" with him, which Rodriguez felt undercut any self-defense claim. To him, the episode captures mounting tension over slipping theater etiquette in a post-pandemic, Gen Z-heavy box office era—along with the risk of taking "teach them a lesson" too far. The theater offered refunds to all moviegoers at the affected showing, CBS News reports.