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Actress Selma Blair was arrested after allegedly biting a flight attendant aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday night. After her arrest, she allegedly kicked a police officer and a nurse and is charged with two counts of assault.
Two flight attendants reported being injured while on the flight, and one was taken to hospital after the incident, according to the Port Authority Police Department. One of the flight attendants was bitten and the other sustained a laceration, according to a law enforcement source.
Her lawyer said Blair had a “medical emergency” on the flight, but did not go into details. Blair has been outspoken about it her struggle with multiple sclerosis.
The incident occurred at 11 p.m. on Delta Air Lines Flight 938. The flight crew had to restrain Blair, a law enforcement source said.
On air traffic control audio, the pilot could be heard calling for medical personnel to come to the plane.
“Ah, a bloody nose as well as bite marks as well, so I don’t think we need an ambulance or anything like that but if we could get some medical personnel at the gate, to check the injury,” the pilot said in audio captured on ATC.com. “It looks like the disruptive passenger was also rubbing her head on the big head or something like that, so clearly we need to investigate her as well as law enforcement.”
Port Authority police were called to the plane, along with the FBI. Blair was transported to Jamaica Hospital for evaluation following the incident. While in the ambulance, she allegedly kicked a PAPD officer, and once at the hospital, she allegedly assaulted a nurse, prosecutors said.
Blair was later released from the hospital and taken to Queens Central Booking. She was then arraigned on two counts of second-degree assault at a Queens court, where she pleaded not guilty. A judge set his bail at $20,000 cash or $60,000 bond and set the next hearing for Jan. 19.
The assault charges are state charges related to the alleged incidents in the ambulance and the hospital.
This is not the first time that Blair has been taken out of a plane. Back in 2016, she was removed by a stretcher after an incident on another Delta flight. In connection with the alleged incident Sunday night, the FBI issued a subpoena for attacks within the exclusive maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, a federal law enforcement source said.
No date has been set for the federal case against her.
“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly or illegal behavior, as the safety of our customers and crew always comes first,” the airline said in a statement.
Blair was traveling with her service dog, who is now in the care of her lawyer.
Blair has been outspoken about it her struggle with multiple sclerosis. In 2025, she gave an interview to People magazine and Travel & Leisure talking about the problems she had with travel. In her 2022 memoir, she also has a chapter called “Bite Me,” where she wrote about past incidents where she bit other celebrities while drinking.
Blair has appeared in films like “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” and “Hellboy,” among others. In 2022, she was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”
