Selma Blair’s representatives have spoken out following her arrest on allegations of a violent incident aboard a recent flight, claiming the actor had experienced a medical emergency and did not intend to cause anyone harm.
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actor → speak → harm
The 54-year-old was arrested on October 11 after allegedly becoming physically abusive towards two cabin crew members during a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York.
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old → arrest → York
Blair was also alleged to have kicked a Port Authority officer in the head while en route to a hospital for evaluation, and allegedly assaulted a nurse upon arrival, per a statement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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Blair → allege → York
In a lengthy statement released on Friday (US time), Blair’s representatives pushed back on various news reports relating to the incident, claiming they offered inaccurate and unfair portrayals of their client.
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they → release → client
A previous statement, along with her lawyer’s remarks in court, had mentioned a medical emergency, but the new statement offered a more detailed defence.
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statement → mention → defence
“Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight,” the statement, which was shared exclusively with People Magazine, read.
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which → experience → Magazine
Selma did not intend to harm anyone.”
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Selma → intend → anyone
Her representatives said any suggestion that Blair does not have multiple sclerosis (MS) – a chronic autoimmune disease the actor revealed she was diagnosed with in 2018 – was “outrageous”, though it did not specify who made such claims.
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who → say → claims
“What Selma has been able to do physically in the years since is nothing short of a miracle.
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been → do → miracle
She still has bad days, and she lives with pain daily,” the statement read.
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statement → have → pain
“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.
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who → have → her
For this reason, Blair travels with a service dog who “doesn’t leave her side”, the statement continued, adding that the authorities allegedly took her dog from her.
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authorities → travel → her
The statement said she has been a relentless advocate for disability rights and the MS community.
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she → say → rights
Blair – a Michigan-born performer best known for her roles in Cruel Intentions (1999), Legally Blonde (2001) and Hellboy (2004) – pleaded not guilty on October 12 to two counts of assault on state charges involving the officer and the nurse, and a judge issued a protective order for them.
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judge → bear → them
According to a federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, the FBI also issued the actor a notice charging her with assault related to her actions aboard the aircraft.
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FBI → accord → aircraft
Details around what happened aboard the Delta plane remain murky, as authorities have not disclosed further information.
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authorities → happen → information
In air traffic communications, the Delta pilot asked the tower to have medical personnel waiting at the gate to treat bite marks and a bloody nose, but said ambulances were not necessary.
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ambulances → ask → marks
The recent statement claimed the public’s version of events has been “built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline”, referring to an earlier incident in 2016 in which Blair allegedly began screaming uncontrollably during a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles.
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Blair → claim → Angeles
She apologised shortly after, saying she regretted the comments she made and that she had mixed alcohol with medication, causing her to black out.
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her → apologise → medication
“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,” the statement said.
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statement → take → 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.”
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speculation → leave → fact
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it → get → ?
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