{"id":371586,"date":"2026-10-13T02:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371586\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T02:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:51:00","slug":"tearful-selma-blair-pleads-not-guilty-in-nyc-courtroom-after-jfk-arrest-over-mid-air-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371586\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearful Selma Blair pleads not guilty in NYC courtroom after JFK arrest over mid-air meltdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

A tearful Selma Blair pleaded not guilty in a NYC courtroom Monday following her arrest a day earlier at JFK over an in-flight meltdown<\/a> in which she allegedly bit a flight attendant before assaulting a nurse and a police officer as she was taken to a local hospital for treatment.<\/p>\n

The episode began to unfold about 11 pm. Sunday, when law enforcement was called to John F. Kennedy International Airport to address a \u201cphysically abusive passenger\u201d aboard Delta Airlines flight 938, which had taxied to the gate after flying in from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Two flight attendants were injured, and one of them was evaluated at a hospital, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the Daily News, identifying Blair, 54, as the passenger in question. One flight attendant had bite marks and another had a laceration, according to law enforcement sources.<\/p>\n

During her appearance at Queens Criminal Court Monday evening, an attorney for Blair said the actress, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and Parkinson\u2019s disease, missed several doses of \u201ca powerful medication\u201d that she takes to manage her severe neurological symptoms, and that she struck her head during the flight. He also cited Blair\u2019s heavy work schedule ahead of the flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese factors, coupled with the altitude, resulted in a state of severe confusion and disorientation,\u201d Blair\u2019s lawyer, Shawn Barnes, told the judge at her arraignment.<\/p>\n

Another attorney representing the actress wiped tears from Blair\u2019s eyes as she pleaded not guilty to the assault charges for the attacks on the police officer and nurse.<\/p>\n

Assistant District Attorney Jared Brady, in seeking bail, noted Blair attacked a police office and a nurse trying to help her. \u201cI do believe that the defendant, striking an officer attempting to bring the defendant into custody is evidence on the intention to flee a prosecution,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n

She was released after posting bail set at $20,000.<\/p>\n

Blair is also facing federal charges for the incident on board the airplane. The FBI issued Blair a District Court Violation Notice to appear at a later date in Brooklyn federal court, where she could face up to a year of prison for the alleged assaults.<\/p>\n

Blair, who rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with appearances in films such as \u201cCruel Intentions\u201d and \u201cLegally Blonde,\u201d was taken into custody and to a hospital for evaluation after being detained at JFK, the sources said.<\/p>\n

\"SelmaSelma Blair has a tear wiped away by her attorney as she appears in Queens Criminal Court on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

But prosecutors said Blair continued her abusive behavior en route to Jamaica Hospital. While in the ambulance, she repeatedly kicked a female police officer in the head, neck and chest, prompting the officer to be evaluated at the hospital as well. The officer suffered severe swelling to her face and pain to her arm, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Once at the hospital, Blair allegedly assaulted a nurse, named in a criminal complaint as Ashley Deleo.<\/p>\n

Deleo was working the night shift when she was attacked, her sister told the Daily News.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe texted me last night and said she got kicked in the chest by the girl from \u2018Legally Blonde,’\u201d her sister, Gina Deleo, recounted.<\/p>\n

During Blair\u2019s arraignment, a second attorney for the actress, Joshua Rietzas, interrupted Judge Indira Kahn to demand he waive his client\u2019s bail, citing her \u201cbody of work\u201d and lack of arrests prior to Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t interrupt the court,\u201d Judge Kahn told Rietzas.\u00a0\u201cBecause she is a celebrity or because she\u2019s done work in the community, there are many people that have done work in the community that are charged with these crimes.\u00a0That is reasonable bail for a person that has the means to fly across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blair was diagnosed in 2018 with multiple sclerosis and uses a service dog due to mobility and balance issues caused by her illness, which affects the central nervous system. She was traveling with her service dog, who is now with her attorney, sources noted.<\/p>\n

\"SelmaSelma Blair appears in Queens Criminal Court on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

The chaos erupted mid-flight when Blair allegedly assaulted at least one flight attendant, according to the audio of a call from the airplane seeking medical attention for two people at the gate posted on Instagram. The audio also indicates the \u201cdisruptive passenger\u201d had hit her head against a bulkhead.<\/p>\n

Delta told The News that there was \u201cno operational impact to the flight,\u201d which landed ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelta has zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first,\u201d the airline told The News in an emailed statement, deferring further comment to local law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\"SelmaSelma Blair appears in Queens Criminal Court on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in New York City. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

The actress had a similar meltdown in 2016, also on a Delta flight, and was taken off the plane on a stretcher<\/a> after exhibiting what was described as bizarre behavior while flying back from Cancun with her son and the boy\u2019s father. She later apologized<\/a> and blamed it on ill-conceived mixing of alcohol and medication. Six months later, she said she was \u201crecovered\u201d and was \u201cready to put it behind me<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A tearful Selma Blair pleaded not guilty in a NYC courtroom Monday following her arrest a day earlier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[85,9,24,63,122,124,123,2632],"class_list":["post-371586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-latest-headlines","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-snyde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}