Selma Blair is apologizing following a severe medical incident that allegedly occurred on a Delta Airlines flight earlier this month.
The “Cruel Intentions” star posted a video on Instagram on Friday, admitting that she had “been quiet for a few weeks since October 11.”
“You deserve to hear directly from me, and I’m sorry it’s taken this long,” Blair said. “There is a legal matter and my lawyers have asked me not to say anything about that day, I am listening to them and I take this very seriously.”
According to the Port Authority of New York, Blair was arrested late Oct. 11 and taken to a hospital for evaluation after he allegedly became violent toward Delta flight personnel. The Port Authority Police Department responded to the call from Blair’s flight from Los Angeles International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Following an alleged in-flight altercation, two flight attendants required medical attention and one was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.
According to dispatch audio obtained by TMZ, a flight attendant had a nosebleed and allegedly “banged her head” on the compartments above Blair’s head. Blair’s representatives told The Times that “Selma suffered a medical emergency that led to the alleged behaviour.”
The star has been candid about her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disorder and autoimmune disease, since 2018.
In Blair’s social media mea culpa, he said his intention was not to harm anyone. “What I can tell you, though, is very simple and the truest thing I know about myself is that I have never intended to hurt or scare anyone a day in my life, and so I am deeply sorry to those I have disappointed, hurt, frightened, panicked at,” he continued.
“And to the people who wrote or called or sent wishes of love or care, it meant so much to me and to my son who is my world… So right now I will take care of my health and my son and think of you all with gratitude and love.”
The FBI is investigating the incident, and the agency issued a statement to the “Legally Blonde” star accusing her of assault, a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. Additionally, the Queens district attorney quickly filed charges against Blair, including two counts of second-degree assault. According to an affidavit obtained by The Times, Blair released one of his legs and repeatedly kicked the officer who tried to strap him to the stretcher.
Hours later, Blair allegedly kicked a Jamaica Hospital Medical Center nurse in the chest, according to testimony.
“The public revelation of what happened to Selma on a plane to New York is based almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline,” Blair’s representatives wrote in an email to The Times.
Blair’s representative condemned reports circulating detailing the mid-flight incident and wrote to “correct the record”.
“No attempt was made to open the aircraft door,” the statement continued. “The claims that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis are outrageous. Her diagnosis has been public since 2018. What Selma has been able to do physically since then is nothing short of miraculous. She still has bad days and lives with pain every day. Selma also has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to her MS, which is directly linked to how a medical event is presented to people who don’t know her. For the same reason, traveling with a service dog that serves her “He doesn’t leave his side and the authorities take his dog away from him.”
Times writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.