Key Takeaways
- Selma Blair’s attorneys argued that the alleged in-flight attacks stemmed from a medical emergency, not intentional violence.
- Her lawyers said Blair had missed medication doses, worked long hours on set, and hit her head after falling aboard the plane.
- Blair pleaded not guilty to two second-degree assault charges, posted bail, and will return to court on Jan. 19, 2027.
Selma Blair's defense attorney is pushing back on the idea that the actress meant to hurt anyone aboard a flight.
During her court appearance on Monday (Oct. 12), Blair’s attorneys said that what happened was a medical emergency rather than an assault.
According to her attorneys, Shawn Barnes and Joshua Reitzas per Page Six, Blair had missed several doses of her medication, had spent extensive hours on a filming set before boarding, and fell and hit her head while on the plane.
"We do not believe, your honor, that this an intentional assault," Barnes told the court, as seen in a video shared by NBC New York, noting that she is a 54-year-single mother with “significant health issues.”
"Miss Blair did not get on that plane intending for any of this, your honor. Again, this was a medical emergency," he continued, adding that his client is a flight risk and that this is Blair’s first “contact” with the criminal justice system.
Much of the argument centered on who Blair is away from the incident, with her attorney describing the episode as an outlier in her life rather than a pattern.
"The violence that we've talked about—this is not who she is,” said Reitzas. “This is not what she represents. It is a sole incident. It is not something that she's ever demonstrated, ever," he said. “The idea that she could be categorized as somebody [who is] violent, or could be repeating this as somebody from the community? This is somebody who we should be looking up to.”
According to TMZ, Selma Blair was arrested on Sunday night (Oct. 11) after allegedly punching a flight attendant and biting another during a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York while attempting to open an aircraft door mid-flight. She was reportedly restrained by flight crew until the plane could land at John F. Kennedy Airport.
After the plane’s landing, Blair was accused of kicking a Port Authority police officer in the head while she was being transported to a hospital. Blair later allegedly attacked a nurse.
Blair pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. A judge set bail at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, and she was released Monday night. The judge also issued an order of protection for the nurse she allegedly assaulted.
Blair's next court appearance is scheduled for January 19, 2027.
