Actress Selma Blair was arrested after allegedly biting a flight attendant on board a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday night. Following her arrest, she allegedly kicked a police officer and a nurse and is facing two assault charges.
Two flight attendants reported injuries during the flight, and one was taken to the 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 attorney said Blair experienced a “medical emergency” on the plane, but did not get into specifics. Blair has been outspoken about her struggle with multiple sclerosis.
The incident happened at 11 p.m. on Delta Air Lines Flight 938. The flight crew needed 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 some 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 look at their injuries,” the pilot said in audio captured on ATC.com. “It sounds like the disruptive passenger also bashed her head on the bulkhead or something like that, so we’ll obviously have to get her potentially checked out as well 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 after 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 court in Queens, where she pleaded not guilty. A judge set her 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 hospital.
This isn’t the first time Blair has been removed from a flight. Back in 2016, she was removed by stretcher after an episode on another Delta flight. As for what allegedly happened on Sunday night, the FBI gave her a summons for assaults within special 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 unlawful 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, which is now in the custody of her attorney.
Blair has been outspoken about her struggle with multiple sclerosis. In 2025, she gave an interview to People magazine and Travel & Leisure talking about the difficulties she had traveling. In her 2022 memoir, she also has a chapter called “Bite Me,” where she wrote about past instances where she bit other celebrities while drinking.
Blair has appeared in such films as “Cruel Intentions,” “Legally Blonde,” and “Hellboy,” among others. In 2022, she was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”