Selma Blair is facing fresh legal trouble after an alleged midair altercation aboard a Delta flight brought renewed attention to a frightening incident from 2016.
The Legally Blonde actress has since been arraigned on assault charges, with authorities investigating allegations involving airline staff, a police officer and a nurse.
Here’s what we know about the two incidents — and how Blair previously described her experience.
Read More: Selma Blair arrested: Everything to know about Delta flight incident
What happened in the 2026 Delta flight?
Blair, 54, was arrested on October 11 after a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Authorities were waiting at the gate following reports of a disturbance.
According to 911 audio obtained by TMZ, the pilot requested police and medical personnel to assist with injured crew members.
“sounds like one passenger and one flight attendant that sustained some minor injuries — a bloody nose as well as some bite marks,” the pilot said, based on the information available to him.
Blair allegedly punched one flight attendant and bit another. A representative later told Page Six that she had experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct and was in stable condition after receiving medical attention.
What happened in 2026?
According to a criminal court affidavit, Blair allegedly kicked Port Authority Police Officer Maria Suarez repeatedly in the face, neck and chest after removing her leg from the stretcher straps.
The officer reportedly suffered jaw swelling and substantial pain.
Read More: Selma Blair arrested after alleged incident on Delta flight to New York
The affidavit also alleges Blair kicked a nurse in the chest at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center while being transported for further treatment.
Blair was arraigned on October 12 before Judge Indira Kahn. Court records show bail was set at $20,000 cash, $60,000 bond or a $60,000 partially secured bond. She was released that evening.
She faces state assault charges, while the FBI has issued a summons relating to alleged conduct aboard the aircraft. The allegations have not, by themselves, established guilt.
Inside 2026 actual flight story
In June 2016, Blair was travelling from Cancun to Los Angeles with her then-four-year-old son, Arthur, and his father, Jason Bleick, when witnesses reported that she began crying and making alarming statements.
She allegedly said, “He burns my private parts. He won’t let me eat or drink,” followed by, “He beats me. He’s going to kill me.”
Medical personnel met the plane after it landed, and Blair was taken to hospital.
She later acknowledged mixing alcohol with medication, saying, “I made a big mistake yesterday,” and apologising to the passengers and crew.
Months later, she described the episode on The Talk as a “total psychotic blackout.”
“I am someone who should never drink, and I rarely do, and I don’t drink anymore, but I was going through something,” she explained.
“I had a glass of wine and someone gave me a pill that I thought was something that I’d taken before … it was something completely different.”
“It was horrible and frightening,” she added.
Selma Blair’s take on ‘psychotic’ incidents
Blair disclosed her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018 and announced in 2021 that the disease was in remission. In 2024, she revisited the 2016 incident, describing it as “horrifying and humiliating.”
“I was so messed up and dehydrated and hungover and didn’t know I had neurological issues,” she told Us Weekly. “I didn’t understand anything. I had to grow up.”
Delta has said it has “zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behaviour” and prioritises the safety of passengers and crew.
As the latest case proceeds, the central questions remain what led to the alleged incident and how the legal proceedings will unfold.
