Actor Selma Blair was arrested at New York’s John F Kennedy airport on Sunday and has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault after she allegedly kicked a police officer and a nurse following a Delta Air Lines flight, according to authorities.
Blair, 54, was taken into custody at about 11pm after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it responded to a call “about a physically abusive passenger aboard Delta Air Lines flight 938 which was parked at the gate” at JFK, where the aircraft had arrived from Los Angeles.
The port authority said on Monday that Blair “was taken into custody and transported to the hospital for evaluation”, adding that two flight attendants reported injuries and that one was taken to hospital for further evaluation.
Several news outlets reported on Monday that Blair allegedly punched one flight attendant, bit a second and attempted to open the airplane door.
Her publicist told the Hollywood Reporter that Blair “experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct”, adding that she received immediate medical attention upon landing and was now in stable condition. The Guardian has sought additional comment from Blair’s representatives.
The FBI, which investigates reports of crimes aboard aircraft, issued Blair a notice charging her with assault over her actions on the plane, according to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Those charges will be handled through the petty violations court in federal court in Brooklyn, and no date has been set for her appearance.
Separately, Blair was charged on Monday night at a court in Queens with two counts of second-degree assault over the alleged assault of a police officer who was taking her to hospital after the flight and of a nurse once she arrived there.
In charging documents, an officer who was taking Blair to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center alleged that as she secured Blair to a stretcher, Blair freed a leg from the straps and kicked her repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling. A nurse who was moving Blair at the hospital alleged the actor kicked her in the chest, causing substantial pain.
On Monday night a judge set Blair’s bail at $20,000 cash or $60,000 bond and scheduled the next hearing for January. Blair then left court with her lawyers.
Details of what took place aboard the aircraft were not immediately disclosed by the airline, police or the FBI, which was investigating. A Delta spokesperson said the airline “has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first”.
An air traffic control audio recording from the flight captured the pilot saying “one flight attendant and one passenger … sustained some minor injuries – a bloody nose as well as some bite marks”. The pilot added: “I don’t think we need an ambulance or anything like that – but we just want to get some medical personnel at the gate to look at their injuries,” according to the recording, a copy of which was published by NBC Los Angeles. The flight controller replied that paramedics were approaching the gate and that law enforcement was already there.
Sunday’s episode was at least the second time Blair was reported to have been involved in an incident on a plane. In 2016, she reportedly began screaming uncontrollably before being removed on a stretcher during a Los Angeles-bound flight from Cancún, Mexico.
Blair apologized after that earlier episode, saying she had “mixed alcohol with medication”. “That caused me to black out and led me to say and do things that I deeply regret,” she said at the time.
The actor has also made headlines over a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, and in February 2024 she apologized for an Islamophobic comment posted on social media.
Blair’s film credits include Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde and Hellboy. She received a best spoken word album for children nomination at the 2011 Grammy awards for her work on Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – The Definitive Edition.
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