Actor Selma Blair did not intend to harm anyone during a flight where she is alleged to have assaulted two flight attendants, a police officers and a nurse, according to a statement from her representatives.
Blair is accused of kicking a police officer taking her to the hospital and kicking a nurse once she got there.
The 54-year-old actor pleaded not guilty last week to two counts of assault for state charges involving the officer and the nurse, The Associated Press reports.
She also faces separate federal charges based on what happened on the flight, which her representatives said was brought on by a severe medical emergency.
“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 representative said in a statement to NBC News.
“We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation,” the representative added.
“Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight,” the statement continued. “There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone.”
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Blair revealed that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2018 and her representative said what she 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,” her representative said, telling the outlet that Blair 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.”
Pseudobulbar affect is “a brain condition in which a person suddenly starts to laugh or cry and can’t manage the reaction,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
“For the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her,” Blair’s representative added.
On the plane, Blair allegedly punched one flight attendant and bit another. She also reportedly attempted to open the plane door while in the air, according to court documents, viewed by Variety.
Global News has not independently viewed the court documents.
A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines told Global News that there was no operational impact to the flight that landed ahead of schedule at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and law enforcement responded upon the flight’s arrival.
“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first,” the Delta spokesperson added.
The Cruel Intentions actor was detained by police around 11 p.m. local time on Oct. 11 after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at JFK, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The Port Authority said that Blair and one of the flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation.
A police officer taking Blair to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center said in charging documents, viewed by Global News, that while she was securing Blair to a stretcher, Blair pulled a leg from the straps and kicked her repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling.
Later, a nurse moving Blair claimed that the actor kicked her in the chest, causing substantial pain, according to the charging documents.
When entering her not guilty plea on Oct. 12, the Legally Blonde actor’s lawyer Shawn Barnes reportedly told a judge that Blair’s action were not intentional.
He said the actor missed several doses of “a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms.”
Barnes said she had gotten on the flight in Los Angeles after a heavy workload and hit her head during the flight. He said these factors along with the altitude led to “a state of severe confusion and disorientation.”
The judge set Blair’s bail at US$20,000 cash or $60,000 bond and she left court with her lawyers. Her next hearing is set for Jan. 19.
—With files from The Associated Press
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