Selma Blair has addressed the turbulent in-flight incident that led to her arrest and assault charges earlier this week.
The 54-year-old actress has been accused of punching and biting members of the crew aboard a Delta flight bound for JFK Airport, as well as attempting to open an aircraft door during Sunday’s journey. The incident reportedly prompted distressed pilots to request medical assistance upon landing.
On Monday, Blair pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. The charges stem from allegations that she kicked a Port Authority Police Department officer; she is also accused of kicking a hospital nurse.
Her attorneys said she had missed several doses of a powerful medication used to control severe neurological symptoms associated with her multiple sclerosis.
The actress has now issued a strongly worded response to the allegations surrounding the flight.
Her spokesman told People, ‘Since Sunday night, the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline.’
The spokesman added, ‘We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation. Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight. There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone.’
The spokesman continued, ‘The suggestion by anyone that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis is outrageous. Her diagnosis has been public since 2018. What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle.’
Selma Blair has spoken out after the in-flight incident that resulted in her arrest and assault charges this week. She is pictured in June.
Blair, pictured leaving a New York court on Monday, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault and was released on bail.
‘She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily. Selma also has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to her MS, which bears directly on how a medical episode presents to people who do not know her. For the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her.’
After noting that Blair had never been arrested before Sunday night, the statement concluded: ‘There is much more to this story than has been reported, and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgment, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion.’
Our News Outlet has contacted Blair’s representatives for comment but has yet to hear back.
Blair’s lawyer has claimed that the actress missed multiple doses of her medication before the alleged mid-air confrontation on Sunday.
Her attorneys told the New York Post on Monday that Blair had also hit her head before the incident on the Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to New York.
The actress was photographed leaving court on Monday after being arraigned on two felony charges linked to the alleged confrontation with airline employees and passengers in mid-air.
Police officers and attorneys escorted Blair from the New York City courthouse as reporters gathered around her after she posted bail.
According to Page Six, Judge Indira Khan set Blair’s bail at $20,000 in cash, or a $60,000 bond or partially secured bond, after she was arrested for allegedly attacking members of the flight crew aboard a Delta aircraft on Sunday, which left distressed pilots asking for ‘medical help’ as they landed.
She had appeared before Judge Khan on two felony counts of second-degree assault, following allegations that she attacked a flight attendant and a Port Authority police officer.
In court, Blair pleaded not guilty to the two second-degree assault charges involving the alleged attacks on the nurse and police officer.
Her representative said, ‘We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation. Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight. There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone.’ She is pictured last month.
Her lawyer Shawn Barnes told the court on Monday, according to the outlet, ‘This was not an intentional assault.
‘Ms. Blair missed several doses of … a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms’ linked to her battle with multiple sclerosis.
Barnes said Blair had traveled to New York City after a long workday, and also was injured on the flight.
‘Ms. Blair boarded this flight after being on set and working extensive hours and exhaustive hours in the days leading up to this flight,’ Barnes said. ‘Additionally, at one point, during the flight, there was an incident where Miss Blair actually fell and hit her head.’
Barnes said that ‘these factors, coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation’ in the incident.
Another lawyer defending the actress, Joshua Reitzas, called Blair ‘the gold standard’ and ‘someone we should look up to’ when considering ‘her body of work and what she’s done for people,’ according to the outlet.
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Judge Kahn said in response that ‘Ms. Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity,’ the outlet reported.
Blair did not say anything as she made her way out of court Monday after posting her cash bail.
The judge ordered Blair to keep her distance from the nurse she is accused of attacking, as a criminal complaint reviewed by the outlet also indicated that the actress allegedly kicked at an officer.
Blair allegedly took her leg out of a stretcher’s straps and kicked at a Port Authority Police Officer’s face, neck and chest, the complaint indicated, as she was being transported in an ambulance from JFK Airport Terminal 4.
According to the legal complaint, after Blair was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, she kicked the chest of a registered nurse.
Both the nurse and police officer reported being in pain after being attacked, prosecutors said, adding that the officer had a swollen jaw.
During the flight, authorities said that Blair struck a flight attendant and bit another one, leaving both with injuries, and one seeking medical treatment.
The New York Port Authority told Our News Outlet in a statement Monday, ‘On Sunday October 11 at approximately 11pm at JFK Airport, PAPD responded to a call about a physically abusive passenger aboard Delta Airlines flight 938 which was parked at the gate after arrival from LAX.
‘Suspect was identified as Selma Blair, a 54 year-old woman. She was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for evaluation.
‘Two flight attendants also reported injuries, and one was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. The FBI is investigating this incident. For further information please reach out the airline and the FBI.’
In an audio clip published by TMZ, Blair had been filmed while she was screaming as she was being removed from the aircraft.
One of the flight attendants had bitemarks on their hands, while another dealt with a cut, sources told the outlet.
Sources told the outlet that it’s expected Blair will be charged federally with ‘assault committed within special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States,’ over the alleged incident on the plane, which, if convicted, could land her in custody for up to one year.
She also faces as many as two to seven years in custody in connection with the pair of felony assault charges in connection with the alleged attacks on the police officer and nurse, if convicted.
Blair’s representative told Page Six that the actress had been dealing with a medical emergency ahead of the alleged attack on the plane.
‘Upon landing, she received immediate medical attention and is currently in stable condition,’ the representative said.
A Delta representative told Our News Outlet that the company has ‘zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.’
A spokesperson for the FBI told Our News Outlet that ‘the FBI is responsible for investigating all assaults aboard aircraft.
‘Yesterday, we were informed by our partners at Port Authority Police Department of a potential assault aboard a flight that arrived into JFK. As per long-standing DOJ policy, we do not comment on ongoing investigations.’
Blair was seen exiting the court on Monday night following a series of events
The actress is due back in court early next year for a hearing on the felony charges
Blair is slated for a hearing in the matter on January 19.
Blair in June of 2016 was taken off a flight headed from Cancun, Mexico, to Los Angeles, as at the time, she had been on a plane with her son Arthur and his father, Jason Bleick.
After making a series of shocking statements, Blair issued an apology, stating that she had blacked out amid a combination of medication and alcohol.
Blair is best known for appearing in films such as 1999’s Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde in 2001 and the 2004 motion picture Hellboy.
She went public with a multiple sclerosis diagnosis she received in 2018, and had visited the White House in 2023 at an event with then-President Joe Biden commemorating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
