Selma Blair’s representatives have spoken out following her arrest on allegations of a violent incident aboard a recent flight, claiming the actor had experienced a medical emergency and did not intend to cause anyone harm.
The 54-year-old was arrested on October 11 after allegedly becoming physically abusive towards two cabin crew members during a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York. Blair was also alleged to have kicked a Port Authority officer in the head while en route to a hospital for evaluation, and allegedly assaulted a nurse upon arrival, per a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In a lengthy statement released on Friday (US time), Blair’s representatives pushed back on various news reports relating to the incident, claiming they offered inaccurate and unfair portrayals of their client. A previous statement, along with her lawyer’s remarks in court, had mentioned a medical emergency, but the new statement offered a more detailed defence.
“Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight,” the statement, which was shared exclusively with People Magazine, read. “There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone.”
Her representatives said any suggestion that Blair does not have multiple sclerosis (MS) – a chronic autoimmune disease the actor revealed she was diagnosed with in 2018 – was “outrageous”, though it did not specify who made such claims.
“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,” the statement read. “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.”
For this reason, Blair travels with a service dog who “doesn’t leave her side”, the statement continued, adding that the authorities allegedly took her dog from her.
The statement said she has been a relentless advocate for disability rights and the MS community.
Blair – a Michigan-born performer best known for her roles in Cruel Intentions (1999), Legally Blonde (2001) and Hellboy (2004) – pleaded not guilty on October 12 to two counts of assault on state charges involving the officer and the nurse, and a judge issued a protective order for them. She is free on bail, and her next court date is in January.
According to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, the FBI also issued the actor a notice charging her with assault related to her actions aboard the aircraft.
Details around what happened aboard the Delta plane remain murky, as authorities have not disclosed further information. In air traffic communications, the Delta pilot asked the tower to have medical personnel waiting at the gate to treat bite marks and a bloody nose, but said ambulances were not necessary.
The recent statement claimed the public’s version of events has been “built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline”, referring to an earlier incident in 2016 in which Blair allegedly began screaming uncontrollably during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles. She apologised shortly after, saying she regretted the comments she made and that she had mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out.
“A handful of journalists have taken the time to report on Selma as a human being rather than a headline, and we are grateful to them,” the statement said. “But fair reporting has been the exception, and in the space left by our silence, speculation has hardened into something being treated as fact.”
With AP
The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.
