NEW YORK — Actor Selma Blair suffered a medical crisis during a weekend flight to New York and never meant to cause harm, her representative said Friday in the first detailed public defense since her arrest.
The statement arrived days after the 54-year-old “Cruel Intentions” star entered a not guilty plea in Queens to two state counts of second-degree assault. Authorities accused Blair of physically abusing people aboard a Delta Air Lines trip from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy International Airport, later kicking an arresting officer and a hospital nurse, according to court documents and Port Authority officials.
Defense Points to Neurological Conditions
Blair’s representative sharply pushed back on early accounts of the Oct. 11 disturbance, disputing suggestions that she attempted to open an aircraft door. The representative emphasized that the actor was dealing with an acute medical event rather than acting out of malice.
“Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight,” her spokesperson said, adding that “Selma did not intend to harm anyone.”
The defense team highlighted Blair’s long-running health struggles. The actor revealed in 2018 that she had received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that targets the central nervous system. Her team noted that Blair additionally manages pseudobulbar affect, a secondary neurological disorder that significantly influences how episodes can appear to bystanders who do not understand her condition.
Her representative also noted that Blair relies on a service animal that stays with her during travel, stating that responding officers separated her from her dog during the encounter. In court earlier in the week, defense lawyer Shawn Barnes told a judge that Blair had missed several required medication doses and suffered a fall in which she hit her head, which interacted with cabin altitude to trigger severe disorientation.
Flight Details and Legal Proceedings
According to Port Authority police, officers met Delta flight 938 at the gate shortly before midnight on Sunday following reports of an unruly traveler. A criminal complaint alleges that Blair kicked an officer in the face, neck and chest while being secured to a gurney, and later kicked a nurse in the chest at Jamaica Hospital in Queens.
Audio transmissions between the cockpit and air traffic control captured the pilot reporting that a crew member and a passenger had incurred minor injuries, including a bloody nose and bite marks, prompt medical personnel to stage at the gate. Port Authority officials confirmed two flight attendants sustained injuries, with one taken for hospital evaluation.
A Queens judge ordered Blair released on bond following her arraignment Monday, directing her to stay away from the officer and the nurse. Federal authorities have also taken action; the Associated Press and ABC News reported that Blair received an FBI violation notice alleging assault within federal territorial jurisdiction.
Blair is tentatively scheduled to return to Queens court on Jan. 19, 2027, as investigations by the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration continue.
