Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - "Legally Blonde" Star Facing 7 Years Behind Bars For Kicking, Biting, Punching Meltdown

Episode Date: October 15, 2026

Selma Blair, 54,  arrested after an alleged altercation aboard a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York City. She is facing two felony second‑degree assault charges.   Blair reportedly punched one flight attendant and bit another, causing injuries including a bloody nose and bite marks. One attendant was taken to the hospital.  Blair is also accused of kicking a Port Authority officer repeatedly in the face, neck, and chest while being restrained on a stretcher, and kicking a nurse at the hospital.   Blair pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.   According to her attorney,  said the incident was the result of a medical emergency, saying Blair had missed doses of Nuedexta, a medication for her multiple sclerosis.     Joining Nancy Grace today: Neama Rahmani - former federal prosecutor, trial attorney, President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, Author: “Harvard to Hashtag”, WestCoastTrialLawyers.com, INSTAGRAM: @Neamarahmani, Twitter: @NeamaRahmani   Dr. Cheryl Arutt - Licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist specializing in Trauma Recovery, PTSD and EMDR,  website: askdrcheryl.com,  website: CreativeEMDR.com , IG: @askdrcheryl  Dr. Raymond Gagliardi  -  General Surgeon specializing in trauma surgery, surgical critical care, and complex gastrointestinal and emergency surgical  Alexis Tereszcuk  - Crime Stories investigative reporter Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Tonight, the legally blonde movie star, Selma Blair, facing along seven years behind bars and exorbitant fines for kicking, biting, punching in the midst of a mid-air meltdown, spoiler alert. I'm taking her side. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace.

This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Actress Selma Blair is arrested and charged with second-degree assault following a violent altercation aboard a Delta Airlines flight that leaves multiple people injured. I think I'm still taking Selma's side. Guys, with me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we are learning tonight. The movie star, we all grew up loving, Selma Blair,

starring and not only legally blonde, but so many other big budget movies, handcuffed and in court facing seven years behind bars. Now, we all know that when outbursts occur mid-air, there are so many more layers of threat and danger. But what really happened and why? to Alexis Torreschuk joining us out of L.A. This is her jurisdictions, crime stories investigative reporter. Alexis, what happened?

Now, listen, I'm willing to accept her defense that she was off her MS meds, multiple sclerosis, because they are extremely powerful. But I got to find out the truth. right now knowing what I know about those meds, I'm on her side. But I don't know all the facts yet. So Alexis, feel me in. What happened?

She took a plane from Los Angeles to New York. On the airplane, her attorney says that she fell and hit her head. As you said, she has MS. She has been very open publicly about her struggles with MS. It has been more than a decade for her. It took so long to get diagnosed. She finally has it diagnosed. She did not take her medicine.

before embarking on this cross-country flight. It is very important. Multiple medicines she needs this is very powerful. And therefore, then she fell on the plane, which as you've seen from her, she doesn't walk very well. She needs a cane sometimes. She has the guard dog with her sometimes. But here on the plane, she falls.

And then she attacks the flight attendants. And this was all just because she had fallen and she had hit her head. She didn't have her medicine. She was really having a serious medical crisis, like a mental breakdown. The flight wasn't delayed. It didn't turn around.

It didn't have to land in a different city. It still landed in New York. And then when they landed, the police were called because she was so out of control. And she, in turn, then kicked a police officer, I believe in the chest, tried to I think she bit somebody on the plane. Then when she was taken to the hospital, because obviously she was having a medical emergency. See, they didn't take her right to jail at all. They took her to the hospital where she needed to be.

And she also kicked a nurse. hit her head on a bulk head. What's a bulk head? An upright partition. It's like a mini wall. It can be dropped structural element and it divides different compartments on a plane like all of us drive in coach

from first class or comfort. It blocks water or fire in the event of an emergency. It conceals utility lines. It's kind of an internal division, like a wall that you see on planes. Now, Alexis Tereschuk, Crime Stories Investigated Reporter joining us out of L.A. just stated, well, a lot, a lot of facts in this scenario.

For those of you just joining us, a movie star Selma Blair looking at seven years behind bars, handcuffed in court, looking at... tens of thousands of dollars of fines. The last one that's similar to this was around $80,000 in fines, which I'm going to throw to Nima Romani in a moment. But I have some corroboration for her, Selma Blair's story that she hit her head. And I'm getting it from the plane pilot. Okay, Delta 938 heavy. We do have paramedics approach in the gate right now and the law enforcement already at the gate. And then one

additional add-on. 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 involved with law enforcement. Understood. I'll pass that along to

PAPD. Okay, thank you. Oh my stars. She sounds like she is in pain. mental anguish, not like she is attacking somebody because she's saying, please don't, that's my dolly. Okay, Dave Mack, also crime stories, investigative reporter on the case. What do we know? Why is Selma Blair screaming like that? Well, Nancy, at this point, you know, the whole interaction began with a disagreement. Now, we don't know what this disagreement slash argument was about,

But what we have been told is that this was brought on by her by some of Blair missing medication and we've talked a little bit about MS, but listen, Nancy, the medication that she's missing, and I don't know how to pronounce this, but it's New Dexter. This is a medication that is used to treat PBA, a pseudo-Bulbar effect. Okay, it's a neurological condition involving the involuntary episodes of laughing or crying. Now we're hearing the screaming going on. She sounds to me as if she's in fear. Those are not just, you know, crying out of pain. They are fearful screams. It just seems like she has really come unglued on this flight. She did hit her head into the bulkhead. That's where her injury comes from. But Nancy, this disagreement with another passenger that escalated into biting where one of the flight attendants had to be hospitalized. This was not just some simple little argument take down. Put him up right now. Dave Mack, there's a big difference in being hospitalized the way you just said it like Ted Baxter. I'm Mary Tyler Moore. Hospitalized. Did she stay, did the,

flight attendant? And look, I always take the side of Delta, but I need to know this. Did she stay overnight? Or did she show up and they squirted her with a little neosporne and go, bye? Because the way you said it sounded like a lethal bite. And I just don't think that's accurate. I don't know how long she stayed in the hospital. It's just that she was hospitalized. You said hospitalized. There's a big difference in staying for a week with intravenous feeding tubes and getting a squirt of alcohol spray and a bandaid. You know what you just reminded? me of, you reminded me of Alex Murdoch when his lawyers

came out and said he had a brain injury and he showed up from a self- orchestrated gunshot wound and he showed up in court wearing a band-aid. So get your facts straight, Dave Mac. I can only go by what we've been told about the reporting which is she was hospitalized. Now, they could have treated

a scratch. Thank you, Ted Baxter. Thank you so much. Let's listen to more of what the pilot said contemporaneously. We'd like to have some medical personnel at the gates for a couple of the FAAs involved in the passenger incident. They just need to get a couple things looked at. Okay, I will pass that along. Just get an estimated station count for me, please.

How many ambulances will need? No ambulances, just some medical personnel available for two flight attendants at the gate should be fine. I know you're busy, but just had a couple of questions for you for paperwork purposes. The passenger, the abusive passenger, the death. that result in the two flight attendants that are requested paramedics? A-firm, from the info I've got, sounds like there were two, yeah, one flight attendant and one passenger that sustained some minor injuries, a bloody nose as well as some light marks as well. So I don't think we need an ambulance or anything like that, but we just

get some medical personnel at the gate to look at their injuries. I can't tell anything, really, from what that captain is saying. Nima Romani, joining us former federal prosecutor turned trial lawyer, president of the West Coast trial lawyers, author of Harvard to hashtag. Have you ever noticed the Delta pilots are always so incredibly calm? Yeah, nothing to worry about here, just missing the tale. They're so calm. So I never know if it's serious or not when they start telling me why we're dropping altitude.

Did you hear how calm he is? No, they're very calm because they're in the comfort of, you know, their secluded area. But look, I don't think the flight attendants were calm when Selma Blair was biting them and scratching them. You know, I don't care if they're in first class or an economy. You know, they deserve to do their job without a Hollywood actress who's getting, I think, some celebrity treatment attacking them. And look, Nancy, this isn't her first time. time. And last time, what was her excuse? I was on the meds and I was on alcohol. This time, oh, I wasn't on my meds. And I want to be sympathetic to MS, but I don't think there's any excuse

or justification here. Are you suggesting that Selma Blair has a biting issue? Well, she certainly has a flying issue. And this is fool me twice, Nancy. I don't want to fly next to Selma Blair. Bottom line, she should not be on an airplane. This is the second time. Well, I frankly don't think she has invited you to fly next to her. Look, I'm on your side regarding the flight attendants. They put up with H-E-E-Double-I'm on their side. But I want to find out what happened. I do have to grudgingly admit that Selma Blair may have a biting issue.

I grabbed her arm and bit it playfully, as if it were an apple. Even as I held her forearm in my mouth, I was aghap. at myself. I thought, what have I gotten myself into? Or her. This is horrible behavior. I have very sharp canines. But Sienna couldn't have been more charming. She kind of screamed, Opa, as I do whenever someone breaks a plate. You bit me, didn't you? You really did, she said in her charming accent. She didn't shame me. He proceeded to introduce me. He proceeded to introduce me to Seth McFarlane. I love Seth McFarland. I was starstruck. What do I do in public situations where I admire someone but feel as if I don't bring anything to the party? I bit him on the hand.

Whoa, he yelled, that really hurt. It wasn't a disaster. I didn't break skin, but I soon hated myself. The first and only person to bite me back was Kate Moss, and I bit her finger. laughed. And because she laughed, I did it again. The second time, she did not laugh. With annoyance, she took her other hand, the one I hadn't bitten, and punched me on the back. That really hurt, she said. Then she bit me back. She grabbed my thumb and crunched right into it. Okay, Nima Romani, you got me over a barrel here because, by the way, that was Selma Blair, in her own words, reading her book. That's Random House Audio. In some circle, mine, we would call that similar transactions.

Oh, no question. She's got a history. She's got a biting problem, Nancy, and it's not cute. She's got a biting problem. She's got a flying problem. I don't want to be anywhere near Selma Blair. So, with all due respect and sympathy to her diagnosis. I don't know why you keep saying that. You act like she invited you over for dinner and you're going to be at the head. Listen, man, I fly Delta one. Nobody has invited you to fly with Selma Blair or sit next. to her. Well, listen, I don't think anyone, anyone should be near her. Anyone should be on a flight with her. She needs to fly private or fix her anxiety, whatever the issue is with her being on planes, because now she's just a danger to everyone. She's a risk. And I think she's getting to some sort of free flight attendant and got a squirt of antibiotic. And you and Dave Mack act like they had surgery. But I do have to You know, when you try a case, you not only prepare your case, you anticipate the other side's case so you can shoot it down as soon as they utter one word regarding it.

And this biting, let me just say, situation, some people would argue it is a pattern, a course of conduct that has now reared its ugly head in the form of a felony mid-air. Well, it's not that big of a secret. This is a list of people bitten by Selma Blair because I need you guys to understand that this is not the first time She she's a biter We've been knowing this so Siena Miller in 2006 She bit her at the chateau Seth McFarlane She mentioned this in her own memoir along with Kate Moss

Bit her too and then you know just for good measure I put the the unnamed flight attendant on the flight I don't know if she bit bit the flight attendants the last time she got strapped to a gurney and taken off of a plane but in case you were wondering she has a multi decades long track record of

being a biter so anyone know what the fuck this woman's problem is that is Paige Campbell Grace at Girl Child on TikTok so you know what Neimo Romani you got me over a and the claim that she was having problems with her MS, multiple scores as meds, is only going to take her so far.

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I'm being joined right now by Dr. Raymond Gagliardi, General Surgeon, specializing in surgery, surgery critical care, and more. Dr. Gagliardi, I'm trying to reconcile everything I'm hearing. Is it possible? Let me just start with that. I'm going to pretend I'm preparing you for trial. Dr. Gagliardi, is it possible that her Selma Blair's behavior is due to being on, off her meds? Her MS meds. They're really powerful. Nancy, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it, and I really appreciate the question. Some of your guests already have talked about Selma Blair's multiple sclerosis and the impact

that this had on these changes that happened to her on the plane. And I think absolutely her disease strongly is impacting her behavioral changes that we saw on the airplane. Whether it's due to medication changes or just the primary disease itself, I think it is strongly likely that it is her disease that is affecting her. Explain to a novice like myself and others, how can you? can her meds and they're really powerful, how can they, if she's taking them or not taking them, how could that have made this outburst happen? Come on, she kicked people, she bit, she's screaming her head off. I think a lot of people don't understand. This disease, it's not the same all

the time. It changes static. It can be good one day, bad the next day, and then suddenly you're dead. that's how it happens. Well, Nancy, I'm so sorry for folks out there and families that are dealing with this disease. This disease ravages the brain. It ravages the neurologic system. It is a short-circuiting of our brain. It destroys the lining outside of the nerve fibers. And so it is very likely that she may have lesions or areas of her brain in the front part of her brain that control our emotions. And you already spoke to whether or not her medications may have been affecting her, and the answer is yes.

Steroids, for instance, are used to manage this disease. High-dose steroids can cause behavioral changes and withdrawing from the steroids, or if you suddenly stop taking the steroids, that can also cause behavioral changes like we've seen in Selma Blair. the primary medications that she may be on to manage her multiple sclerosis probably aren't affecting her behavioral changes but if she is on medications for depression we see depression in MS that can affect her behavioral changes as well she may have one of your guests spoke to a pseudo ballbar affect she obviously has this she's alluded to it in in herself and so pseudo

ball bar affect can cause these crying spells or these outbursts. So these are all problems with the primary disease of multiple sclerosis. So I think it's highly likely that her disease is causing these behavioral or cognitive changes. Dr. Gagliardi, you just said so much. I'm trying to furiously take copious notes regarding what you said. Okay, you mentioned steroids. Steroids. people crazy. I'm not just talking about people that take them in the gym to pump up. I mean, regular people are giving steroids to fight an ailment and they get agitated and angry. If she's on steroids, would that have made a change? Yes, and Nancy, you spoke about this. These are not small dose steroids, as you said, that somebody like you or I might take for a short term.

These are often high-dose steroids used to manage this disease, and we know that high-dose steroids can cause behavioral changes, whether you're taking the high-dose steroids or perhaps you forgot your dose. And so I think that we don't know that she's taking steroids, but we do know that high-dose steroids are often used for the management of multiple sclerosis. Dr. Gailiarty, and anybody on the panel, with a question for our doctor tonight, please jump in because I'm just a trial lawyer. This is way beyond my scope of expertise. You mentioned many people with MS, debilitating MS, are on depression meds.

Why does MS make so many people depressed? Well, I don't think we know that specific answer. We just know that there's a short-circuiting of the brain and the areas that control our emotions may be affected by these lesions, from multiple sclerosis. And so if she has some active disease... Doc, again, I'm just a trial lawyer. I don't have all the letters at the end of my name, but I can tell you this much.

One reason you get depressed when you have MS is because you can't walk anymore. You can't move anymore. You may end up paralyzed from here down. You can't even dial a phone. You can't punch the TV clicker. Nothing. You can't feed yourself. It's over.

And you watch your children being raised and you can't go to their games or their scout events. It's over. You're right. And so these folks often have anxiety or depression and mood disorders. As you mentioned, Nancy, because they are dealing with a horrible, chronic, debilitating disease. And so perhaps she's on medications for anxiety or depression. That can also contribute to some of the changes that she's. has exhibited in the past as well as this episode on the airplane.

And what did you mention the pseudo-balbo aspect? What is that? One of your guests mentioned this as well, pseudo-balbar affect. And it's just the brain is being affected in the centers that control our emotions. And so patients who have this often have these crying outbursts for no reason at all. They can't control them. Or they might laugh at something that really isn't even funny. They can't control it.

It is an organic problem in the brain that we know is often associated with multiple sclerosis. To Nima Romani, who I call whenever I have a very, very difficult legal issue to try and tear apart and make sense of and analyze, Nima, I hear what you're saying. And if I are prosecuting this case, I say much the same things you are. Have you noticed, and I don't know if you do this, I remember the first time I read something derogatory about Andy of Mayberry.

Well, of course, I didn't believe it, much less Barney. Have you noticed that we tend to think we know TV and movie stars based on their roles? Sure, no question. And look, Selma Blair isn't dying. She's flying across the country. She's acting.

She's going to show up at a 90s convention and take pictures and sign autographs for money. So I'm being sympathetic, but having MS is not a legal excuse. Wait, the way you said that. Nema Romani, everybody can't kick back and write a book and make a living like you did. Okay? You said it like it was dirt in your mouth. You crossed the country to sign autographs and make money. Why did you say it like that?

The walls got to live. She's making money good for her. I heard you. She's a successful actress. Listen, having MS is not a license to assault and hurt people. That's just the bottom line. If she wants to plead guilty and make a mitigation argument at sentencing. I agree with that.

I totally agree with that. We're always on the same page, but I think you're going soft on this one, Nancy. You really are going soft. I'm not going soft, Neymah. I'm strategically looking at the possibility that she has a, valid defense. Believe it or not, Nima Romani. I don't want innocent people convicted. I know that's hard for you to believe, but I don't. And speaking of, cut his mic, to Dr. Cheryl Erritt joining us, a licensed clinical forensic psychologist. She specializes in trauma

recovery. You can find her at askdoctorsharell.com. Dr. Cheryl, have you noticed people think they know TV and movie stars? Do I have to say, O.J. Simpson, that jury was convinced he was the guy running through the airport in the Hertz ads. Yes, these are parasycial relationships. We think we know somebody. We see somebody being successful, a cool girl role to look at Selma Blair's character. She's been beloved for so many years. And just because she has celebrity does not mean that she cannot have a medical emergency. And you, having known that somebody that you really loved was fighting MS and dealing with this for decades, you understand that this is something that is debilitating and exhausting. And we can look at what Sama Blair has done in terms of her effort to treat this, to do even really hardcore treatments like, I don't know if you or your family member ever did a stem cell transplant, but she did.

And I actually have a family member who I watch go through that. And that is absolutely like they almost kill you and then try to bring you back. She tried absolutely everything. And if she is managing to get up and work and go places, that speaks to how hard she's fighting to have a life. And I think the physician, Dr. Gigliardi, it really spoke beautifully about how the brain in multiple sclerosis attacks the part of the brain. With the lining and the lesions, it attacks the very part of the brain that controls our impulse control. You can have a good day.

You can have a bad day. You can completely lose it. And Selma Blair sounds absolutely terrified in this recording. She was completely out of control. And we can all appreciate how very dangerous this could be on a plane and how hard flight attendants have it and how this isn't okay. or something that people feel good about, but we do need to understand that celebrities can have medical emergencies as well. And this sure sounds like one to me. That's Selma Blair, star of Legally Blonde, screaming at the flight, yay.

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Always free Download the free IHard Radio app today Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Nemo Romani Why are you so convinced Those are screams of aggression and not screams of fear or some other emotion.

Well, it sounds like someone who's coherent and knows what's going on to me. Look, if you're talking about defending this case, it's either insanity, which she's not, or that she's involuntarily committing these physical acts. And she is not. This is a high legal standard. Look, again, I'm sympathetic, but she has harmed people. She needs to plead. She needs to accept responsible.

all I hear are excuses on this show for her harming other people. That is not our... Okay, I'm not minimizing what happened to the flight attendants at all. At all, their injuries, such as they were, were... It's real. They did have to go to the hospital. They were out in a couple of hours, but still, they don't deserve that. They are innocent in this scenario.

What I'm doing tonight is trying to understand why. not that the state ever has to prove motive, but if it's because of a medical reason, I want to know that. And when you say she sounds sane, why is she screaming Alexis Tereschuk or Dave Mack? I'll start with you, Alexis. Please don't.

That's my dolly. What dolly? I think what she might have meant was her dog. She was traveling with her medical assistance dog, Scout, and maybe that was she was screaming. And when she said dolly, she meant doggy. she wanted because she didn't want to go without him. Dr. Gagliardi, I'm up against Nima Romani on this.

And I'm in unknown territory because I'm defending someone. Would altitude have affected her in any way because she did have another incident on a plane? I don't think she bit anybody. But there was another incident where she had to be taken away on a gurney. Yeah, that's a very good question, Nancy. And there are altitude changes on a plane, even a commercial airline that is a pressurized, cabin, but there's lower oxygen levels, even at altitude. We don't wear oxygen masks, but there is some differences at altitude versus ground level. And so there are some slight

oxygen changes. I don't know whether that was a contributory factor or not. I think that's an excellent question. I'll go back to what I said before earlier. I think it's pretty clear that her changes are due to her disease. And I can respect what the attorney is. saying in terms of prosecuting this case. Well, but I understand it's you said, Nancy, you try to hashtag West Coast trial lawyers president. You dad. Well, nonetheless, I think it is important, as you said, Nancy, to try to understand the,

what is causing her behavioral changes. She's not really in control of some of these things. I think something else that's interesting that came out of the report is she hit her head on the bulkhead. You mentioned that earlier in the segment. And I wonder if that's contributory as well, and she has a concussion in layman's terms or a head injury, as we say, and whether that is contributory as well. I think that should be explored. Is it a medical condition brought on by her fight against MS, the evil multiple sclerosis that has destroyed so many lives, not just of people suffering with MS, but their families as well?

debilitating. Or is it just another celebrity meltdown? Do I have to say Mariah Carey? A public and unannounced appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. She pushed an ice cream cart, rambled on to Carson Daly, and took off her shirt. Okay. Alec Baldwin, wow, where do I start? There's the fight in a parking lot with someone. There's telling his 11-year-old daughter, you're a rude, thoughtless little pig. There's Will Smith. He slapped somebody on national TV. There's Reese Witherspoon with her infamous, Do You Know Who I Am at a traffic stop where she was suspected of DUI? She got arrested on camera.

Who would have ever thought America's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon would have a meltdown? Well, Britney Spears. There's just been so many. I don't know where to start. Where do I start with Shail LeBuff? I don't even know where to start with him and all of his outbursts. Justin Bieber, DUI Drag Racing Incident. There's Ariana Grande. Why was she licking donuts?

She blurted out, I hate Americans. Hey, you're forgiven after wicked. Kanye, hard to know where to start with him, but there's leaked audio capturing him screaming at production staff and threatening to walk off a show. Oh, can you imagine that? So, bottom line, which is it? Nema, Romani says it's an attack.

I'm still standing by Selma Blair tonight. With the help of Dr. Raymond Gagliardi, what's my takeaway regarding Selma Blair? Give me some ammo to fire back at Romani. Well, I think, Nancy, you mentioned a bunch of celebrities who have clearly had outbursts. I think the difference here is that we know Selma Blair has a chronic debilitating disease, which is multiple sclerosis, where the body attacks its own nervous system, and we know that this disease causes behavioral emotional changes.

And I can't speak to those other celebrities, but we know from the public record that she has this horrible disease, and it is quite likely that these emotional outbursts, both in the past and the present, are due to her neurologic disease, which is multiple sclerosis. the body attacking its own nervous system, particularly if she has had lesions in the front part of the brain that control our emotions in the frontal lobe. To you, Alexis Tereschat, Crime Stories, Investigator, reporter, what happened in court with Blair? Selma Blair was in court. She was handcuffed because the judge said she had to be so. She was crying as her attorney wiped tears away from her face.

She was given a $20,000 cash bond and another $60,000 bond. She has to appear back in court in January of 2027. We wait as justice unfolds, and again, not minimizing the injuries to the Delta flight attendants who get all sorts of credit from me. But I want to know why. We remember an American hero trooper Andrew Fox, Virginia State Police, just 27 killed in the line of duty, leaving behind his wife, Jenny. Now a widow. American hero trooper Andrew Fox. Thank you to all of our guests being with us tonight, but especially to you.

Nancy Gray, signing off for tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow night. And until then, good night, friends. This is an I-Heart podcast, guaranteed human.