{"id":927753,"date":"2026-10-14T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/927753\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T11:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T11:00:21","slug":"selma-blair-arrest-actress-legal-team-claims-in-flight-attack-was-due-to-missed-medication-released-on-bail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/927753\/","title":{"rendered":"Selma Blair arrest: Actress\u2019 legal team claims in flight attack was due to missed medication, released on bail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selma Blair\u2019s legal team have addressed her alleged violent attack<\/a> during a recent Delta flight, claiming it was sparked by missing her medication.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 54-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018<\/a>, appeared in court on Monday (Tuesday AEDT)\u00a0where her lawyer claimed she did not intend to assault a police officer and a nurse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Selma Blair appeared in court over her alleged violent attack mid-flight, where her legal team claimed that it was sparked by missing her medication. \u00a0Barry Williams \/ New York Daily News via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Blair entered a not guilty plea after being charged with two counts of second-degree assault following a series of alleged attacks on two flight attendants mid-air, a Port Authority police officer and a hospital nurse.<\/p>\n

The Legally Blonde star is facing two to seven years in jail if she is convicted.<\/p>\n

Blair is being represented by defence lawyers Shawn Barnes and Joshua Reitzas.<\/p>\n

Barnes said Blair had missed her medication prescribed to treat her multiple sclerosis<\/a> and had also fallen and hit her head.<\/p>\n

Barnes claimed that Blair had boarded the flight after being on set and working \u201cextensive hours and exhaustive hours\u201d in the days leading up to the trip, per the Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese factors coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not an intentional assault,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Reitzas also asked the judge to consider Blair\u2019s body of work, claiming she is \u201cthe gold standard\u201d.<\/p>\n

The judge replied: \u201cMs Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Selma<\/p>\n

Selma Blair has been released on bail. Pictured leaving court on Monday after her arraignment on charges of injuring two flight attendants during a cross-country flight.\u00a0AP Photo\/Ryan Murphy<\/p>\n

Blair appeared emotional during her arraignment, with Reitzas wiping tears from her face at one point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The actress was released on bail, which was set at $US20,000 ($28,629) cash, $US60,000 bond or a $US60,000 partially secured bond.<\/p>\n

She was arrested on Sunday after allegedly punching one flight attendant, biting another and attempting to open one of the plane doors mid-air on a flight bound for the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York.<\/p>\n

According to 911 audio, which has been obtained by multiple US outlets, a pilot called for medical assistance and law enforcement to be on hand when the plane landed to help with an \u201cabusive\u201d passenger.<\/p>\n

The pilot confirmed ambulances were not necessary, just medical personnel waiting at the gate on arrival. <\/p>\n

The pilot also claimed the \u201cdisruptive passenger\u201d had \u201cbashed her head on the bulkhead\u201d and would need to get \u201cpotentially checked out as well as involved with law enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Blair, pictured in 2025, was reportedly put into restraints on the flight and arrested on landing.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

Sources have also said that Blair was put in restraints on the flight and arrested on landing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blair allegedly repeatedly kicked a Port Authority police officer in the head when she was being transported by ambulance to the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once at the hospital, the Cruel Intentions star<\/a> allegedly assaulted a nurse, who has pressed charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The FBI has also issued Blair with a federal summons, which is called a violation notice.<\/p>\n

The summons charges her federally with \u201cassault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Selma Blair\u2019s legal team have addressed her alleged violent attack during a recent Delta flight, claiming it was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":927754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-927753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=927753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/927754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=927753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=927753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=927753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}