Selma Blair's Team Disputes Account of Flight Arrest, Cites Medical Emergency
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A representative for actress Selma Blair says she suffered a medical emergency on a Delta Air Lines flight to New York and never meant to hurt anyone, in the first public statement from her camp since her arrest. The statement, issued Friday, disputes parts of the public account of the incident, which authorities say ended with assaults on a police officer and a nurse.
Blair, 54, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. According to Fox News, she is expected back in court in January 2027.
What authorities and court documents allege
Port Authority officials told Fox News Digital that police responded to a call at John F. Kennedy International Airport about a physically abusive passenger on Delta flight 938, which had arrived from Los Angeles and was parked at the gate. Officials said they identified the passenger as Blair, took her into custody and sent her to a hospital for evaluation. They put the call at about 11 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11. NBC News, citing court documents, put the removal from the plane at around 11:50 p.m., so reports differ on the exact time.
According to a criminal affidavit cited by NBC News, Blair kicked an officer in the face, neck and chest while he was securing her on a stretcher. Fox News, citing court documents, reported that she freed her leg from the restraints and that the officer suffered substantial swelling. A nurse at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center told authorities Blair kicked her in the chest while being moved, the documents say.
Fox News also reported that law enforcement officials said the FBI separately served Blair with a summons on one assault charge. Fox said TMZ, citing unnamed sources, reported that Blair punched one flight attendant and bit another during the flight. Neither NBC nor Fox independently confirmed that claim.
Delta confirmed that law enforcement met the flight on arrival. The airline said it has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior and that the flight, which landed ahead of schedule, was not operationally affected.
What Blair's representative and lawyer say
In the statement to People, also sent to NBC News, the representative said the public account has rested almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline. The representative said Blair experienced a medical emergency, that there was no attempt to open the aircraft door and that she “did not intend to harm anyone.”
The statement pointed to Blair's multiple sclerosis, which she disclosed publicly in 2018, and to pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition the representative described as secondary to her MS. The representative said that condition affects how a medical episode looks to people who do not know her. The representative added that she travels with a service dog and that authorities separated her from the animal. The statement called any suggestion that she does not have MS outrageous.
The representative also said Blair had never been arrested before that Sunday night and had worked on seven film and television projects in 2026. It said she has launched skin care, clothing and reading-glasses lines and advocates for disability rights and the MS community.
In court in Queens, attorney Shawn Barnes said the episode was not an intentional assault, according to the New York Post. He told the judge Blair had missed several doses of a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms and had boarded after long hours on set. He said she fell and hit her head during the flight. He argued that these factors, combined with altitude, left her severely confused and disoriented.
Where the accounts differ
The two sides agree that an incident occurred and that Blair has multiple sclerosis. They differ on intent and cause. Authorities describe physical attacks on a police officer and a nurse. Blair's team describes a medical crisis. The representative said “much more to this story” remains unreported and asked the public to weigh all the facts before judging. The sources do not detail what additional facts the team has in mind.
What's at stake
For Blair, the case carries two second-degree assault counts, and the judge set bail at $20,000 cash, $60,000 bond or $60,000 partially secured bond. Whether the court accepts that a medical episode affected her actions is likely to shape how the case proceeds, though the sources do not say how a judge or prosecutors might weigh that argument.
For air travelers and airline workers, the case is a reminder of how quickly an in-flight disturbance can lead to criminal charges and a police response on arrival. It also raises the question of how crews and officers handle passengers with neurological conditions. Delta said safety of customers and crew comes first.
What happens next
Blair is due back in court in January 2027. Until then, the allegations in the court documents remain unproven, and she has pleaded not guilty.
