Actress Selma Blair arraigned on assault charges in alleged altercation with flight attendants
Judge Indira Kahn set bail at $20,000 cash and $60,000 bond, and Blair posted the cash and was released. She is due back in court in January 2027
Actress Selma Blair was arraigned Monday in Queens Criminal Court on two assault charges, a day after she was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport following an alleged altercation with flight attendants on a Delta Airlines flight. TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources, that Blair became physically abusive while the plane was in the air Sunday, allegedly punching one flight attendant and biting another.
The sources also said one attendant sustained a laceration and the other a bite mark.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the outlet that two flight attendants reported injuries and one was taken to the hospital. Blair was reportedly put in restraints on the plane and arrested upon landing.
The sources also told TMZ that Blair repeatedly kicked a Port Authority police officer in the head while in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, and later assaulted a nurse who has pressed charges. It was separately reported that the FBI issued her a federal violation notice charging “assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
In court, defense attorney Shawn Barnes told Judge Indira Kahn that “this was not an intentional assault." Barnes said Blair, who has multiple sclerosis, “missed several doses of a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms.”
Blair's lawyer said she boarded the flight after working long hours on set and fell and hit her head during the flight. “These factors, coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation,” Barnes said.
Co-counsel Joshua Reitzas asked the judge to “consider her body of work and what she’s done for people.” Kahn answered, “Ms. Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity.”
Suggested articles
Blair was ordered to stay away from the nurse.
The actress's representative said in a statement, “Selma experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct. Upon landing, she received immediate medical attention and is currently in stable condition.”
In June 2016, Blair was removed from a Los Angeles-bound flight on a stretcher after an incident.