You've probably read the story – actress Selma Blair mixed medication with alcohol onboard a flight yesterday, which catalysed a disruptive outburst – one that concluded with her being carried out of the plane via a stretcher.
She was travelling from Cancun to Los Angeles following the Father's Day holiday she had enjoyed with her ex-partner, Jason Bleick, and their 4-year-old son, Arthur, when the outburst occurred, and was attended to by nurses onboard before being hospitalised on touchdown at LAX.
Responding to an episode of this nature is no easy affair. And so often A-listers get it wrong. They might deny anything happened, or blame the incident on others, and sometimes even say nothing at all, which lets all those speculative rumours fly and accumulate, until eventually they are forced to comment...
Which is why we have nothing but respect for Selma Blair and the way she responded; because she did none of these things.
In a statement made exclusively to Vanity Fair, the Cruel Intentions star wrote:
'I made a big mistake yesterday. After a lovely trip with my son and his Dad, I mixed alcohol with medication, and that caused me to black out and led me to say and do things that I deeply regret.
'My son was with his Dad asleep with his headphones on, so there is that saving grace. I take this very seriously, and I apologize to all of the passengers and crew that I disturbed and am thankful to all of the people who helped me in the aftermath.
'I am a flawed human being who makes mistakes and am filled with shame over this incident. I am truly very sorry.'
Why was this such a good response? Let us analyse it in-depth:
1.) She acknowledged what she did was wrong, outright: 'I made a big mistake'.
2.) She acknowedged her son was present – though didn't witness the episode – and by doing so, admits her behaviour was irresponsible. 'My son was asleep with his Dad... so there is that saving grace'.
3.) She apologised to all the people she disrupted – both staff and fellow passengers – and also to the nurses and doctors who treated her.
(How many A-listers have publically done this, we ask ourselves – that 'basic b**ch' affair last year is one of many examples).
4.) She expressed true regret over what happened: '[I] am filled with shame'.
5.) And she heartily apologised: 'I am truly very sorry'.
We struggle to remember a time where we have apologised for anything so eloquently.
The actions Selma took on the plane were obviously ill-advised; but her heartfelt, sincere and immediate apology, turns the incident in its entirety – ironically – into the ultimate lesson in humility.
READ MORE: Kate Moss escorted off plane after calling pilot a 'basic bXXtch'