Selma Blair's Biting History: Actress Said Her System 'Gets Overwhelmed' and 'Short-Circuits' Years Before Flight Row

Selma Blair's history of biting people has been put in the spotlight after the actress was accused of biting a flight attendant during a Delta Air Lines flight, reviving an explanation she gave years ago for behaviour she said occurred when her system became overwhelmed. Blair was arrested after the 11 October flight from Los Angeles to New York, where she allegedly assaulted two flight attendants.

Her representatives said she experienced a medical emergency, while her lawyers said she had missed several doses of medication and hit her head, contributing to severe confusion and disorientation. Blair has pleaded not guilty to the state charges.

Selma Blair's Biting History

The latest incident has brought renewed attention to Blair's account of biting celebrities in her memoir. Blair revealed in her 2022 memoir, Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up, that she had bitten three celebrities years before the latest flight incident: Sienna Miller, Seth MacFarlane and Kate Moss.

'My system gets overwhelmed and instantaneously short-circuits,' Blair wrote, describing how she could react in social situations. She recalled biting MacFarlane on the hand after meeting him at a Las Vegas club in 2004, saying she had become '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,' Blair wrote, recalling MacFarlane's reaction: 'Whoa! That really hurt.' Blair also described biting Miller on the arm at the Chateau Marmont in 2006. She said she was 'aghast' at her own behaviour but recalled that Miller did not shame her over the incident.

Incident With Kate Moss

Blair's account of Moss was more dramatic. She recalled spending time with the model in a London hotel suite after a Marc Jacobs fashion show when she bit Moss' finger.

'And because she laughed, I did it again,' Blair wrote. The second bite prompted Moss to respond that it hurt before biting Blair's thumb in return.

Blair said the encounter was the first time she realised how much she could hurt people when she behaved that way. 'This was the first time I had any inkling of how much I might hurt people when I bit them,' she wrote, describing herself afterwards as 'a shamed nursery school kid' and apologising to Moss.

The memoir accounts predate the current flight incident and do not establish a connection between Blair's past behaviour and the latest allegations.

What Happened on Blair's Flight?

Blair is accused of punching one flight attendant and biting another during the Delta flight. The FBI is investigating the alleged in-flight conduct, while she separately faces two state assault charges involving alleged attacks on a police officer and nurse.

The incident was not Blair's first reported flight disturbance. In 2016, she was removed from a plane after an episode she later attributed to mixing alcohol with medication, telling Vanity Fair she had 'blacked out' and regretted her behaviour.

At her arraignment, Blair's attorney, Shawn Barnes, said the latest episode was not intentional, citing missed medication, a head injury and the effects of altitude. According to the New York Post, Barnes said Blair had missed several doses of 'a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms'.

'This was not an intentional assault,' Barnes said. A judge set Blair's bail at $20,000 (£15,000) cash or $60,000 (£45,000) bond. Blair has pleaded not guilty to the state charges and is due back in court in January.