Selma Blair Apologizes After Her Plane Incident Arrest: 'I Am So Sorry' - the Actress Has Pleaded Not Guilty to Assault Charges, With Court Set for January
She stayed quiet for weeks after the October 11 flight. In a video posted Friday, Blair said her lawyers told her not to talk about that day - and apologized anyway.
Selma Blair is the most searched name in America on Monday morning, and the reason is an apology. The 54-year-old actress broke weeks of silence on Friday with an Instagram video addressing the October 11 incident aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to New York that ended in her arrest, NBC News reported. Blair apologized to those she hurt, frightened or disappointed, said she is taking the legal matter very seriously even though her lawyers advised her not to speak publicly yet, and said it is not in her nature to intentionally cause harm to anyone.
In the video, Blair said she knew she had been quiet for a couple of weeks since October 11 and that her audience deserved to hear from her directly, and she apologized for how long it had taken. There is a legal matter going on, she said, and her lawyers have asked her not to say anything about that day - advice she said she is following. What she could say, she said, was the truest thing she knows about herself: that not one day in her life has she ever intended to hurt or frighten anyone, and that to the people she disappointed, hurt, frightened or alarmed, she is so sorry. She thanked the people who had sent support, said she would focus on her health and her son, and said her service dog Scout, who was on the flight, is also doing well.
The charges are serious and remain allegations. Port Authority officials said officers responded to reports of a physically abusive passenger when the flight reached JFK, and NBC News reported that two flight attendants reported injuries, with one requiring hospital treatment. Blair was taken to Jamaica Hospital for evaluation and was arraigned on October 12 in Queens Criminal Court, where she pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault arising from alleged altercations involving a Port Authority police officer and a nurse. Bail was set at $20,000 cash or $60,000 bond, and the Queens District Attorney's office has confirmed the case is adjourned until January 19, 2027. The FBI also has an inquiry, because federal law covers assaults aboard aircraft.
Blair's legal team says the incident was a medical emergency. Her lawyer, Shawn Barnes, has said she had missed several doses of medication and fell and hit her head during the flight. Blair publicly disclosed a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018 and also lives with Parkinsonism, her representatives say, and they have denied reports that she attempted to open an aircraft door. None of the allegations has been proven in court, and Blair's plea is not guilty. Her next word on the case, under her lawyers' advice, is likely to come in court in January.
