Selma Blair's team breaks silence after plane incident and arrest
Selma Blair's team is speaking out about the actor's recent arrest following an alleged mid-flight incident on Oct. 11. She was arrested after being accused of injuring two flight attendants on a trip from Los Angeles to New York.
'Selma did not intend to harm anyone,' representative says in a statement
Griffin Jaeger · CBC News
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Selma Blair's team is speaking out about the actor's recent arrest following an alleged mid-flight incident on Oct. 11.
"Since Sunday night, the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline,” Blair’s representative said in a statement to CBC News.
The actor was arrested after being accused of injuring two flight attendants on a trip from Los Angeles to New York. She was also charged Monday with assaulting a police officer who was taking her to the hospital and a nurse after she arrived there.
“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 says. "But fair reporting has been the exception, and in the space left by our silence, speculation has hardened into something being treated as fact.
"We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation."
'Selma did not intend to harm anyone': rep
Blair appeared in court on Oct. 12 and pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. She was later released on bail.
"Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight. There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone," her representative wrote.
Blair leaves court on Oct. 12. (Ryan Murphy/The Associated Press)
A police officer who took her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center said in charging documents that while Blair was being secured to a stretcher, the actress pulled her leg from the straps and kicked the officer repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling.
Later, a nurse moving Blair said the actress kicked her in the chest, causing substantial pain.
One of Blair's attorneys, Shawn Barnes, previously told a judge her actions were not intentional and that the actor, who has multiple sclerosis, missed several doses of "a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms," according to the New York Daily News and New York Post.
Blair, was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2018 and has been an advocate for disability rights.
He said she had gotten on the plane in Los Angeles after a heavy workload, and hit her head during the flight. Those factors, as well as the plane's altitude, led to "a state of severe confusion and disorientation," he said.
Selma Blair accused of assaulting and injuring flight attendants, police officer and nurse
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Blair's representative in the statement also addressed apparent comments about her diagnosis.
"The suggestion by anyone that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis is outrageous. Her diagnosis has been public since 2018. What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle," they wrote.
"She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily. 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 the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her. It should be noted Selma has worked on seven film and television projects in 2026 alone, only a couple of which have been announced," they wrote.
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The statement also continues: "She has launched a skin care line, a clothing line, and a line of eye-glass readers, each built around the idea of beauty and utility for people whose bodies do not always cooperate.
This is not the first time the actress, known for roles in films like Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde and Hellboy, has allegedly had issues while on a plane. In 2016, Blair apologized for making statements she regretted on a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles, saying that she mixed alcohol with medication, which made her black out.
Blair has been involved in advocacy, rep says
Her representative's statement also addressed the actor's recent advocacy work.
"She remains a visible and relentless advocate for disability rights, for the MS community, and this year for the Jewish community in the face of rising antisemitism, including from the stage of the ADL’s State of the Arts event at The Jewish Museum two weeks ago.
"Selma had never been arrested before Sunday night."
Blair attends the 35th Annual Environment Media Association Awards in Studio City, Calif., in October 2025. (Michael Tran/AFP/Getty Images)
Blair has kept a low Hollywood profile as of late, but competed on Dancing With the Stars in 2022 and is set to return to the big screen in the upcoming supernatural thriller Silent, whose release date has yet to be announced.
“There is much more to this story than has been reported," her spokesperson said, "and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgment, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Griffin Jaeger is a reporter and producer with CBC's entertainment unit. He also formerly hosted and produced content for The National’s digital platforms. You can reach him at griffin.jaeger@cbc.ca
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