Selma Blair has spoken for the first time since being charged with assault after a mid-air assault incident, saying she is “so sorry” to anyone “that I hurt, I frightened, that I alarmed”.
Blair pleaded not guilty to state assault charges over allegations she kicked a nurse and a police officer after an incident involving crew members on a flight from Los Angeles to New York earlier this month.
At the time, her representatives said her alleged behaviour had been brought on by a severe medical emergency.
In a video posted to Instagram, Blair said: “I know I’ve been quiet for a couple weeks since October 11. And you deserve to hear from me directly, and I’m sorry that it’s taken this long.
“There is a legal matter going on, and my lawyers have asked me to not say anything about that day, and I’m listening to them.”
The actor said she took the matter “very seriously” and that the “very simple and the truest thing I know about myself is that not one day ever have I intended to hurt or frighten anyone”.
“And so to the people that I disappointed, that I hurt, I frightened, that I alarmed, I am so sorry,” she said, adding that she appreciated everyone who had reached out to her in support since the incidents.
Blair then assured fans that her service dog Scout, who accompanied her on the flight, was doing well. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and got the Labrador as a service dog five years ago.
The actor concluded: “So, right now I’m going to be taking care of my health. And my son. And thinking of you all with my gratitude and love.”
Blair, 54, was detained by police when the Delta flight landed in New York and was taken to hospital for evaluation.
A police officer taking her to Jamaica hospital medical centre alleged in charging documents that while securing Blair to a stretcher, the actor pulled one of her legs from the straps and kicked her repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain and substantial swelling.
Later, a nurse moving Blair said the actor kicked her in the chest.
She was arraigned on two counts of second-degree assault late the following day at a court in Queens, where a judge set her bail at $20,000 (£15,141) cash or $60,000 dollars bond and set the next hearing for January.
Her lawyer Shawn Barnes told the judge that her actions were not intentional.
He said the actor missed several doses of “a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms,” according to the New York Daily News and New York Post.
Mr Barnes said she boarded the flight in Los Angeles amid a heavy workload and hit her head during the flight.
He said these factors, along with the altitude, led to “a state of severe confusion and disorientation”.
