Selma Blair Reveals She Has Used Alcohol to Ease MS Symptoms — After Airport Arrest for Mid-Air Meltdown
Selma Blair revealed she's used alcohol to mask her multiple sclerosis symptoms.
Oct. 21 2026, Published 4:21 p.m. ET
Selma Blair admitted she used to turn to alcohol to mask her multiple sclerosis symptoms, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The actress, 54, opened up about her condition in a new episode of Jenny McCarthy's podcast, claiming booze also helped her sleep, eased anxiety and soothed nerve pain.
'I Was Always Feeling Tired and Depressed'
Blair said she started drinking at a young age.
And she started drinking alcohol as a "very young girl" to help with her health problems.
"When you're depressed, that is never going to be a good solution," she explained. "And I was just always feeling tired and depressed, and that was horrible."
Blair added that she does not live a "sober sober lifestyle" but knows that drinking is something she "cannot do."
Former Playboy pin-up, 53, broached the topic by asking Blair to talk about how she masked her MS symptoms by drinking.
"It's wild the times that I've gone, even as a very young girl, to alcohol," she noted. "I was never someone that liked drugs. I was just afraid of them, you know.
Booze Was 'One Thing That Took Away My Nerve Pain'
The actress says alcohol calmed her down.
"I was never someone that could tolerate opiates, thank God. Like vomit, vomit, vomit, you know, especially with all my teeth stuff," she continued. "But I was, even at a very young age, using (alcohol) for the headaches, using it to calm down. And then I realized it was the one thing that took away my nerve pain.
"But then, you know, one glass isn't enough. Two glasses isn't great. Three is better. Four is horrible," she added, clarifying that she knew drinking "wasn't going to lead me to the right place."
As for her current stance on sobriety, she said, "I don't live, like, a sober sober lifestyle with AA, but drinking, no, I cannot do."
'Alcohol Is Not a Good Medicine for Me'
Blair opened up about her past drinking habits to Jenny McCarthy.
"I wish I could be someone that could have two glasses of wine and just be flirty and fun and listen better," Blair said. "I'm still a human being, but I recognize that alcohol is not good medicine for me."
McCarthy said that consuming alcohol while having an autoimmune condition is like "drinking toxic sludge."
Blair said, "I mean, it really was tough for me. And I used it for so long in times of distress, but I never really went out and did it."
"It's funny because friends would be like — I'd be like falling around — they're like, 'How much did you drink?' And I'm like, 'Oh, no. That's later when I get home.' Like, I don't drink in public because I know I'm using it to like, go to sleep."
Blair says she's 'still on antidepressants.'
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McCarthy, 53, was surprised by her answer, asking: "It made you sleep? Because it would keep me up."
"No, it would make you asleep because you pass out, and then you wake up three hours later you know wishing your life was over," Blair replied.
The actress went on to say that she is still on antidepressants because she is "terrified to get off it."
"I'm not on any like painkillers. I'm not on any of that," she said. "I take a couple things and I'm afraid to get off the lowest dose."
The 'Legally Blonde' star's reps tried to defend her mid-air meltdown.
Blair's reps recently defended the actress after her alleged physical altercation on a Delta flight earlier this month, saying she did not intend to harm anyone.
She was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 11 and later pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree assault.
The Legally Blonde star appeared in court the next day and was released on bail.
A criminal court affidavit accused her of repeatedly kicking a police officer and a nurse in the chest during the flight.
