Selma Blair is “doing great” after a medical emergency preceded her arrest at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, her former professional dance partner has said.
The 54-year-old actor was arrested on October 11 after an alleged altercation with cabin crew on a Delta flight from Los Angeles. She was later taken to hospital.
Blair has pleaded not guilty in a New York court to two assault charges and remains free on bail ahead of her next court date in January.
Sasha Farber, who partnered Blair on Dancing with the Stars in 2022, said he had been in contact with her since the incident.
“I have been talking to Selma. She’s doing great and I’m thinking of her,” Farber told People. “We are family. She is literally my family.”
Selma Blair’s multiple sclerosis and medical episode
Blair’s spokesperson said the actor had suffered a medical event connected to her multiple sclerosis, which she revealed she had been diagnosed with in 2018.
The spokesperson also said Blair has pseudobulbar affect, a neurological condition secondary to MS that can affect how a medical episode appears to people unfamiliar with her condition.
Blair travels with a service dog who remains with her, according to the spokesperson, who said authorities took the dog from her during the incident.
The actor has been described by her spokesperson as a prominent advocate for disability rights and the MS community. She has also spoken in support of the Jewish community amid rising anti-Semitism, including at an event at the Jewish Museum two weeks before the arrest.
“Much more to this story than has been reported,” the spokesperson said, urging people to consider “the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgement, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion”.
