Selma Blair’s rep issues statement on airplane arrest, says she ‘did not intend to harm anyone’

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Selma Blair’s spokesperson has released the first official statement about the actress’ airplane incident days after she was arrested at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport before being hospitalized following an alleged altercation with crew members aboard a Delta Airlines flight on October 11. 

In the statement shared with People Magazine, Blair’s representative clarified that the actress had no intention of harming anyone present at the scene and instead experienced a medical emergency while on board. 

Selma Blair’s rep addresses viral airplane incident

Blair’s representative opened the message by highlighting that public notion around the airplane incident was built around a single police statement and headlines from the past. 

“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,” the spokesperson shared. 

“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. But fair reporting has been the exception, and in the space left by our silence, speculation has hardened into something being treated as fact,” they said, adding, “We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation.” 

The spokesperson further clarified that the actress had no intention of causing harm and also did not try to open the door of the aircraft, as claimed in some initial reports.

“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,” the statement read. 

Blair was arrested at the John F. Kennedy International Airport around 11 PM local time on October 11. Reports suggested that she allegedly hit a flight attendant and bit another crew member aboard a Delta Airlines flight. She was also accused of allegedly assaulting a nurse and a Port Authority Police officer.

The ‘Mean Girls’ star eventually appeared in court the following day. A criminal court affidavit revealed that she was arraigned on two counts of second-degree assault on the officer and the nurse but pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Court records showed that the judge set bail at $20,000 cash, $60,000 bond or a $60,000 partially secured bond. Blair was released on bail that same evening. 

Selma Blair’s spokesperson sheds light on her medical emergency

The representative further addressed claims that suggested that the ‘Cruel Intentions’ star is not suffering from multiple sclerosis. “The suggestion by anyone that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis is outrageous,” they mentioned. 

“Her diagnosis has been public since 2018,” the spokesperson highlighted, adding, “What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle. She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily.” 

They further revealed, “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.”

The representative then shed light on Blair’s latest achievements and noted how the actress has never been arrested before the recent incident. “[Blair] has worked on seven film and television projects in 2026 alone, only a couple of which have been announced,” they said. 

“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,” they continued. 

“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,” the representative mentioned.

“There is much more to this story than has been reported, 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,” they concluded.