Selma Blair Says She Is Sorry in First Video Since Delta Flight Assault Arrest
In a video posted Friday, Oct. 30, the actress, 54, apologized to people she said she hurt or frightened on Oct. 11 and said she was taking care of her health and her son. She pleaded not guilty to two felony assault counts the next day.
Selma Blair said she was sorry on Friday, Oct. 30, in her first video message since her arrest after a Delta flight earlier this month. The actress, 54, posted the video to Instagram and addressed the incident that led to two counts of felony second-degree assault.
“I know I’ve been quiet for a couple weeks since Oct. 11, and you deserve to hear from me directly, and I’m sorry that it’s taken this long,” Blair said. She said a legal matter was under way and her lawyers had asked her not to say anything about that day. “What I can tell you, though, is very simple and the truest thing I know about myself, in that not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone a day in my life,” she said. “And so, to the people that I disappointed, that I hurt, that I frightened, alarmed, I am so sorry.”
What happened on Oct. 11
Around 11 p.m. on Oct. 11, police responded to Delta Flight 938, which had just arrived at its gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York from Los Angeles, according to a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey provided to USA TODAY.
Dispatch audio obtained by TMZ showed paramedics were called for one flight attendant and one passenger with injuries that included a bloody nose and bite marks, and for Blair, who had hit her head on the bulkhead, USA TODAY reported. One flight attendant was taken to a hospital, and Blair was also taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Port Authority told USA TODAY.
While Blair was being secured on a stretcher to be moved from the terminal to an ambulance, she allegedly kicked Port Authority Police Department Officer Maria Suarez repeatedly in the face, neck and chest, according to the criminal complaint. Suarez said she needed hospital treatment for pain and swelling. A registered nurse involved in the transport alleged Blair also kicked her in the chest and caused pain, USA TODAY reported.
The next day, Blair was charged with two counts of felony second-degree assault in Queens Criminal Court, pleaded not guilty, and was released after posting $20,000 bail.
Health history and her attorney’s account
Blair thanked people who wrote, called, or sent wishes, and said the messages meant a great deal to her and her son. She said her dog Scout, who was on the plane with her, was also OK, and she said she would take care of her health and her son.
CNN reported that Blair’s attorney, Shawn Barnes, told the court she had worked long hours, missed doses of medication, and fallen and hit her head aboard the plane. A spokesperson, Fritzo, told USA TODAY at the time that Blair had a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct, received immediate medical attention, and was in stable condition.
Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in August 2018 and has spoken publicly about the condition since then, USA TODAY reported. In an Oct. 16 statement, Fritzo said Blair still had bad days and lived with pain daily, and that she also had pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition linked to her multiple sclerosis that affects how a medical episode appears to others. Fritzo also said Blair traveled with a service dog that stayed by her side and that authorities had taken the dog from her.
Reporting based on coverage by USA TODAY.
