UPDATE
Oct 31, 2026 10:30 AM CDT
Selma Blair is speaking publicly for the first time since she was arrested at JFK Airport earlier this month following an in-flight incident. In an Instagram video on Friday, the actress apologized and said she never meant "to hurt or frighten anyone" after allegedly trying to open a plane's exit door en route to New York and later striking airline staff, per Deadline. She added that ongoing legal proceedings limit what she can say but stressed she's taking the matter "very seriously." "And so, to the people that I disappointed, that I hurt, that I frightened, alarmed, I am so sorry," she noted. Blair, who thanked supporters and said she's focusing on her health and her son, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault related to alleged attacks on a police officer and a nurse after landing. She was released on $80,000 bond and is due back in court on Jan. 19.
Oct 17, 2026 9:50 AM CDT
Actor Selma Blair didn't intend to harm anyone during a flight and its aftermath where she's alleged to have assaulted two flight attendants, a police officer, and a nurse, according to a statement on Friday from her representatives. The statement pushed back against what it said were inaccurate and unsympathetic portrayals of Blair, 54, and the Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York on Sunday that led to her first arrest, per the AP. "Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight," the statement said. "There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone." A past statement, along with her lawyer's remarks, had said briefly that a medical emergency was behind all that happened, but the new statement gave a more detailed defense. Blair has multiple sclerosis, and the statement said it's "outrageous" that anyone would suggest she doesn't.
"Her diagnosis has been public since 2018," the statement noted. "What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle. 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." The statement added: "For the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn't leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her." The statement noted that Blair has been a relentless advocate for disability rights and the MS community. The actor was accused of injuring two flight attendants on the plane bound for Kennedy Airport, then kicking a police officer taking her to the hospital and kicking a nurse once she got there, per a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
She pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of assault on state charges involving the officer and the nurse, and a judge issued a protective order for them. Blair is free on bail, with her next court date set for January. The FBI also issued Blair a notice charging her with assault related to her actions aboard the aircraft, according to a federal law enforcement official. In 2016, Blair apologized for making statements she later regretted during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles. She said she'd mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out. Friday's statement said the public version of the more recent events has "been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline."
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