US actress Selma Blair, 54, has been issued a summons accusing her of assault after she allegedly attacked attendants on a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to New York on Sunday.
The FBI investigated the incident on Delta Air Lines Flight 938, which occurred around 23:00 local time. Airport officials responded to a call regarding "a physically abusive passenger" on the flight, according to the New York Port Authority. Two flight attendants were reportedly hurt, with one requiring hospitalization. Air traffic control audio, obtained by CBS News, captured the pilot requesting medical personnel to the plane, citing a passenger with "a bloody nose as well as some bite marks." CBS News also reported that Blair was allegedly restrained on the plane by the flight crew. A federal law enforcement source later confirmed that Blair was issued a summons for a charge of assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the US, though no date has been set for this federal case.
Upon the flight's arrival at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, law enforcement responded. Delta Air Lines, through a spokesperson, stated there was no operational impact to the flight and affirmed the company's "zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first."
Blair was arrested at the airport and taken to a hospital. Her publicist stated that Blair "experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct" and that she "received immediate medical attention and is currently in stable condition" upon landing. However, prosecutors have alleged that while being transported to the hospital, Blair kicked a police officer in the ambulance. Once at the hospital, she is further alleged to have assaulted a nurse, according to CBS News.
After her release from the hospital, Blair was taken to Queens Central Booking. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault stemming from the alleged incidents in the ambulance and at the hospital. CBS News reported that a judge has set her bail at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, with her next hearing scheduled for January 19.
Blair largely retreated from film work after her 2018 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), a condition she later stated "took my career down" because she "had to stop working." She announced in 2021 that she was in remission for the disease. Before Sunday's incident, Blair had posted on Instagram about her extensive travels with her service dog, Scout, an English Red Fox Labrador she acquired in 2021 to assist with her neurological condition.
This is not the first time the actress has faced an incident on a flight. In 2016, a drunken outburst led to two nurses subduing her onboard a flight. Blair later issued a public apology, attributing the incident to accidentally mixing her medication with alcohol, which caused her to "black out" and "say and do things that I deeply regret." She described herself as "a flawed human being who makes mistakes and am filled with shame over this incident." US media reported at the time that she was screaming uncontrollably and required oxygen. She was removed from that flight on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. Additionally, in her 2022 memoir, "Mean Baby," Blair wrote about biting several celebrities, explaining that she bites people when "my system gets overwhelmed and instantaneously short-circuits."