‘I am so sorry’: Selma Blair tearfully apologises after Delta flight incident | Watch
New Delhi: Legally Blonde star Selma Blair has broken her silence weeks after she was arrested on assault charges following an incident aboard a . In an emotional video shared on Instagram, the 54-year-old actor apologised to those she may have “hurt” or “frightened” while making it clear that she never intended to harm anyone.
Blair appeared in court on October 12 and pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault. She was later released on bail. With the legal case still ongoing, the actor said she had stayed quiet on the advice of her lawyers.
Selma Blair apologises for flight incident
Taking to Instagram on Friday (October 30) night, Selma Blair told her followers that they “deserve to hear from me directly” and apologised “that it’s taken this long”.
Explaining why she had not spoken publicly about the incident earlier, Blair said there was “a legal matter going on” and that her lawyers had advised her to remain silent.
“I take this very seriously,” the Legally Blonde star said. “What I can tell you, though, is very simple, and the truest thing I know about myself in that not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone a day in my life,” she added.
Blair then directly apologised to people affected by the incident, “And so to the people that I disappointed, that I hurt, that I frightened, alarmed… I am so sorry.”
View this post on Instagram
The actor also thanked those who had reached out to her with supportive messages, “And to the people that have written, or called, or sent wishes of love or caring, it has meant everything to me and my son, who is my world, as a scout who is also okay. So right now, I’m going to be taking care of my health and my son, and thinking of you all with gratitude and love.”
What happened on the Delta flight?
Selma Blair has been accused of assaulting crew members during the flight to New York. According to reports, she punched a flight attendant and bit another crew member. She was also accused of assaulting a nurse and a Port Authority Police officer.
According to dispatch audio obtained by TMZ, crew members reportedly suffered injuries, including a bloody nose and bite marks. One flight attendant was reportedly taken to hospital. Other audio from the incident captured Blair repeatedly screaming “No!” while alarms could be heard in the background.
Selma Blair’s team disputes reports
Before Blair addressed the controversy herself, her representative issued a statement claiming that “the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline”.
The statement added: “A handful of journalists have taken the time to report on Selma as a human being rather than a headline, and we are grateful to them. But fair reporting has been the exception, and in the space left by our silence, speculation has hardened into something being treated as fact. We can, however, correct the record on a few points already in public circulation.”
Her representative said Blair had experienced a “medical emergency” aboard the flight and denied reports suggesting that she had attempted to open the aircraft door.
“Selma did not intend to harm anyone,” the representative said.
Blair’s team also addressed discussions surrounding her health, saying, “The suggestion by anyone that Selma does not have multiple sclerosis is outrageous. Her diagnosis has been public since 2018”.
“What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle,” the statement continued. “She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily. Selma also has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to her MS, which bears directly on how a medical episode presents to people who do not know her.
“For the same reason, she travels with a service dog who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her,” the statement added.
Blair’s team had earlier maintained that she “experienced a medical emergency that led to the alleged conduct. Upon landing, she received immediate medical attention and is currently in stable condition.”