Selma Blair pleads not guilty to assault charges after Delta flight; judge refuses special treatment
Actor Selma Blair was arraigned in Queens on two assault charges after an incident on Delta Flight 938 and at a hospital. Her lawyers sought leniency; the judge said celebrity warrants no special treatment and set bail.
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The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Actor Selma Blair, 54, was arraigned in a Queens court on Monday night on two assault charges, and her lawyers asked the judge for leniency. New York PostR “at the 54-year-old “Cruel Intentions” star’s arraignment on assault charges Monday night” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN “her lawyers pleaded with a Queens judge to be lenient to the actor citing her body of work” Read at The Times of India ↗ Mixed · 2Lawyer Joshua Reitzas told the court: “Consider her body of work and what she’s done for people,” and called her “the gold standard.” New York PostR ““Consider her body of work and what she’s done for people,” said one of Blair’s two lawyers, Joshua Reitzas” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN “She is the gold standard.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Mixed · 2Judge Indira Kahn (spelled Khan by the Times of India), who had already refused a request to remove Blair's handcuffs for the hearing, said Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity. New York PostR ““Ms. Blair should not get special treatment because she is a celebrity.’’” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN “Indira Khan who already denied Blair's lawyers' request to uncuff her for the proceeding” Read at The Times of India ↗
Mixed · 2Blair pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault; bail was set at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, which she posted before being released. The Times of IndiaN “The actor pleaded not guilty to the two counts of second-degree assault.” Read at The Times of India ↗ New York PostR “Kahn ended up setting Blair’s bail at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, which she posted and was freed.” Read at New York Post ↗ Mixed · 2The charges stem from Sunday night's Delta Flight 938 from Los Angeles to Kennedy Airport, where Blair allegedly bit one flight attendant and attacked another before the crew restrained her; the New York Post says this led to a federal assault charge. New York PostR “biting one flight attendant and attacking another before the crew had to restrain her — leading to a federal assault rap against her” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN “attacked one flight attendant by biting” Read at The Times of India ↗ Mixed · 2After landing she was taken to a hospital for evaluation, where she allegedly repeatedly kicked a police officer during transport and then kicked a nurse at Jamaica Hospital in Queens; these are the two charges covered at the arraignment. New York PostR “allegedly repeatedly kicking a cop during transport in the head and then attacking a nurse at Jamaica Hospital in Queens” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN ““when the defendant kicked [the nurse] in her chest.”” Read at The Times of India ↗
Centre · 1According to the affidavit as reported by the Times of India, the officer suffered jaw swelling and substantial pain to the face, neck and chest, and the nurse said the incident happened around 2 a.m. Monday. The Times of IndiaN “The police officer said she sustained swelling in her jaw, and substantial pain to her face, neck and chest.”“The hospital nurse said she interacted with Blair at around 2 a.m. Monday” Read at The Times of India ↗ Mixed · 2Her lawyers said Blair, who has multiple sclerosis, was off her medication and exhausted from work; the Times of India adds that lawyer Shawn Barnes said the assault was not intentional. New York PostR “suffers from multiple sclerosis and behaved badly because she was off her meds while also exhausted from work, her lawyers said” Read at New York Post ↗ The Times of IndiaN “Another lawyer Shawn Barnes said in the court that the assault was not intentional.” Read at The Times of India ↗ Right · 1The New York Post notes a 2016 incident on a Delta flight, when Blair said she had mixed alcohol with medication and blacked out, and her past struggles with alcoholism and biting of other celebrities, which she has described in a 2022 memoir. New York PostR “In 2016, when she launched into a horror meltdown in front of her 4-year-old son on a Delta flight”““My system gets overwhelmed and instantaneously short-circuits,’’ she wrote in a 2022 memoir.” Read at New York Post ↗
Centre · 1The Times of India also reports that before boarding, Blair liked a fan's comment saying she was feeling great, then replied that she was sad and “not great.” The Times of IndiaN “I am not great” Read at The Times of India ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Largely a rewrite of the New York Post report, adding affidavit details and the not-guilty plea; headline highlights the assaults and the judge's refusal of special treatment.
- Emphasis
- Affidavit details on the officer's and nurse's injuries, the not-guilty plea, and Blair's social media reply before the flight.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Leaves out Blair's 2016 Delta incident, her alcohol history and her past biting of celebrities.
- Charged language
- “harrowing incident”“meltdown”“no-nonsense judge”
- For example
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“the no-nonsense judge told them that a celebrity will not be accorded any special treatment” — The Times of India
“More details of the harrowing incident of Sunday have now emerged in the affidavit.” — The Times of India
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Tabloid, mocking tone: leads with the lawyers' 'gold standard' plea and the judge's rebuff, and frames the episode as Blair's 'second bizarre mid-air meltdown'.
- Emphasis
- Blair's history: the 2016 Delta incident, alcoholism and past biting of celebrities.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not report the not-guilty plea, the lawyer's claim the assault was unintentional, or the affidavit details on injuries.
- Charged language
- “A-lister-chomping”“bizarre mid-air meltdown”“went berserk”“fugghedaboutit”“haggard-looking”
- For example
-
“Lawyers for A-lister-chomping actress Selma Blair claimed to a Queens judge she deserved a break after her second bizarre mid-air meltdown” — New York Post
What every side reports
- Blair was arraigned in Queens on two assault charges after an incident on Delta Flight 938 from Los Angeles to Kennedy Airport.
- Her lawyers cited her body of work and called her 'the gold standard'; the judge said no special treatment for celebrity.
- Bail was set at $20,000 cash or a $60,000 bond, which she posted.
- The judge had refused to remove Blair's handcuffs for the hearing.
- Lawyers said Blair had not taken her medication.
Where accounts differ
-
Whether the flight incident led to a federal charge.
- Centre
- Times of India does not mention a federal charge.
- Right
- New York Post says the flight incident led to a federal assault charge.
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
-
Neutral Rewrites the Post's account with added affidavit detail, emphasising the judge's refusal of celebrity treatment.
Right1 article
-
Dismissive Tabloid-style account that ridicules the defence plea and stresses Blair's history of outbursts.
- 13 Oct 18:35 First New York PostR Selma Blair’s lawyers seek leniency while calling her ‘gold standard’ — how no-nonsense NYC judge fired back
- 13 Oct 20:10 +1h 35m The Times of IndiaN Selma Blair's lawyers call her 'gold standard' after she assaulted Delta staff and then a cop; Judge Indira Khan says no special treatment for a celebrity
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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