Key Takeaways
- Selma Blair faces two federal assault charges and two state assault charges after an alleged midair outburst on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York on Sunday night.
- Blair allegedly tried to open the aircraft door, punched one flight attendant and bit another, injuring both before crew members restrained her for the rest of the flight.
- After landing at JFK around 11 p.m., Blair was taken into custody and allegedly kicked a Port Authority police officer in the head and assaulted a nurse at the hospital, who has pressed charges.
- Blair's representative said a medical emergency led to the alleged conduct, while Delta said it has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and found no record of her trying to open the door.
Selma Blair was arrested over the weekend following an incident on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York.
On Sunday (Oct. 11), the actress, 54, allegedly punched one flight attendant and bit another while attempting to open an aircraft door while the plane was mid-air, according to TMZ. Crew members restrained Blair until the flight landed at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York.
A dispatch call from the flight, which can be heard below, hears an employee request medical personnel for two people involved in the incident, one who was believed to be a passenger.
Officers were waiting at the gate when the plane touched down around 11 p.m. The Cruel Intentions star was taken into custody before heading to an area hospital for evaluation.
One flight attendant sustained a laceration and the other was bitten, and one of the two received hospital care.
According to TMZ, while Blair was en route to the hospital, she allegedly struck a Port Authority police officer in the head, and upon her arrival, allegedly assaulted a nurse, who has since pressed charges.
The entertainer now faces two federal assault counts tied to the flight attendant, per Page Six, in addition to two state assault charges covering the officer and the nurse. Blair's representative, however, has called the incident a “medical emergency” for which their client is now in “stable condition.”
Delta Airlines released a statement to Variety, affirming “zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior” and prioritizing the safety of customers and crew members.
Blair was removed from a flight in June 2016, after landing with her then-4-year-old son in Los Angeles from Cancun during a "total psychotic blackout,” which she recalled on an episode of The Talk, per People. Blair would blame the episode on drinking and taking a pill on the flight.
“It was horrible and frightening and I had empathy for myself actually afterwards because it was actually so out of character for me, especially because I’m a mother,” she said at the time.
