Selma Blair Pleads Not Guilty to Assault Charges Following Violent Outburst on Delta Flight

Selma Blair pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault at a Monday evening court appearance in Queens, New York less than 24 hours after the actress was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport for an allegedly violent outburst on a Delta flight that injured two flight attendants and sent one to the hospital. Blair is also set to face separate charges from the FBI as the agency is responsible for investigating all assaults aboard aircraft.

Judge Indira Khan set Blair’s bail at $20,000 cash or $60,000 bond, and the actress was released after making bail following the appearance, per the Associated Press. New details emerged late Monday about what allegedly occurred on board the flight and in the aftermath when Blair was detained at JFK and transported to a local hospital.

When news first broke about the incident on board Delta flight 938 from Los Angeles, it was reported that Blair had allegedly assaulted Delta flight attendants by punching one and biting another. She also reportedly attempted to open the aircraft door at some point during the flight. New York Port Authority Police Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that Blair was detained at the gate and transported to the hospital for evaluation Sunday.

It was revealed in charging documents, as detailed by AP, that a police officer who was transporting her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center reported that Blair removed a leg from straps to kick her repeatedly “around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling.” Then Blair allegedly also kicked a nurse in the chest, a blow that reportedly caused “substantial pain” as well.

Blair was represented at Monday night’s hearing by attorneys Shawn Barnes and Joshua Reitzas. Khan set her next hearing for Jan. 19, 2027 and also reportedly granted an order of protection for the nurse whom Blair allegedly assaulted while receiving care. It was an emotional and at times tense scene in the courtroom per video that has surfaced from the hearing. At one point, Blair cried with tears running down her face, and her lawyer Reitzas moved to wipe them from her face as Blair remained handcuffed during the proceedings.

As reported by The New York Post, Barnes said that his client missed taking medication that helps manage her multiple sclerosis and that she had been working “extensive hours and exhaustive hours” leading up to the flight. At some point on the flight, she also hit her head on a bankhead — an injury also reported by the pilot when he called in for backup at the gate — that played a part. “These factors coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation,” Barnes said in court.

Meanwhile Reitzas asked the court for leniency by pointing out her career and advocacy work.

“Consider her body of work and what she’s done for people,” Reitzas told the judge. “This is someone we should look up to. She is the gold standard.” Judge Kahn shot back, per the Post: “Ms. Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity.”

Meanwhile, a Delta rep denounced the situation with a statement saying that the airline “has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first.”

It’s not Blair’s first incident on board a flight. In June 2016, Blair, who was returning to Los Angeles from a vacation in Cancun, Mexico, began screaming uncontrollably and causing chaos on the flight. Two nurses on board helped subdue the actress, who was then taken to the hospital for evaluation. As reported at the time by THR, Blair apologized and claimed she had blacked out after mixing prescription medication and alcohol.

“I made a big mistake yesterday. After a lovely trip with my son and his dad, I mixed alcohol with medication, and that caused me to black out and led me to say and do things that I deeply regret,” Blair said in a statement. “My son was with his dad asleep with his headphones on, so there is that saving grace. I take this very seriously, and I apologize to all of the passengers and crew that I disturbed and am thankful to all of the people who helped me in the aftermath. I am a flawed human being who makes mistakes and am filled with shame over this incident. I am truly very sorry.”

She also has a history biting people, most notably celebrities. As she revealed in her memoir, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up, Blair copped to sinking her teeth into Sienna Miller, Seth MacFarlane and Kate Moss. She blamed the incidents on social anxiety or awkwardness, writing that her system gets “overwhelmed and instantaneously short-circuits,” adding, “Social interactions have been cumbersome.”

Sunday’s incident comes just days after Blair delivered a revelatory speech at New York’s Jewish Museum during the Anti-Defamation League’s State of the Arts reception. She detailed the extent of her career fallout after anti-extremist comments she made on Instagram.

“The brands I worked with were gone within a day. A few partnerships I’d spent years building were shelved. My agency was gone. My lawyer was gone. My publicist was gone. My book agent was gone. My book publicist was gone. My social media manager was gone. My son’s godmother was gone – my best friend. While some friends in the business quietly stood by me, most of them were gone. And of course, my manager, my supposed friend of 30 years, and a Jew, was gone too. I still don’t know what any of them were thinking. No one returned my calls,” explained Blair about the February 2024 incident.

The actress is best known for her work in Cruel Intentions, Hellboy, Legally Blonde and The Sweetest Thing. It’s unclear what project she was working on in the days leading up to the flight though THR had just reported that she’d been cast in Bridget Stokes and Theresa Burkhart Gallagher’s Schmoolie the Deathwatcher, a mystical coming-of-age romp, opposite Isaac Krasner as the title character, Luenell, Ariel Martin, David Mazouz and Sania Halifa.